Joel Embiid’s Latest Celtics Comments Were Very Respectable
The Boston Celtics avenged their opening night loss to the Philadelphia 76ers with a win over Philly on Friday behind 32 points from Jaylen Brown. It was the Sixers’ first loss of the season (4-1) and Boston’s third straight victory (3-3).
Suddenly, the Jayson Tatum-less Celtics are gaining some respect league-wide, but it doesn’t sound like 76ers star Joel Embiid is that surprised by their success without JT.
Following Friday’s game, Embiid pointed out that no one should be sleeping on the 2025-26 Celtics.
“When you’re missing Jayson Tatum, you’re not gonna be as good as usual … (but they’re) still a pretty good team,” Embiid said, per CLSN Media’s Bobby Manning. “They got the Finals MVP, 6th Man of the Year … they’re still gonna be good … that’s not a team you should dismiss … they’re gonna be fine.”
The 76ers seem to be preserving Embiid’s body to begin the season. The former MVP is averaging 17.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists on just 22.3 minutes per game.
It hasn’t stopped Philly from getting off to a hot start, thanks mostly to Tyrese Maxey’s MVP-level play, as well as the immediate emergence of rookie VJ Edgecombe. Reinforcements are on the way for the Sixers, too, with Jared McCain and Paul George expected back in the coming days.
The Celtics will continue their season on Saturday with a home game against Ime Udoka, Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets. Beyond Brown’s really nice start to the season, Boston is also receiving contributions from new acquisition Josh Minott. Embiid’s right — there’s no reason to dismiss these Celtics.