Author: Michael

Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images
Plus: LeBron’s 100th 40-point game leads the Lakers over the Rockets.
Eighteen teams were in action on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. While most of the outcomes were arguably predictable, they were hardly short on excitement. Let’s dig into Monday’s NBA scores.

Celtics drop Hornets, 130-118, behind big night from Tatum
Had Jayson Tatum not dropped a season-high 51 points in Boston’s win in Charlotte, perhaps the game’s story might be that the Celtics undoubtedly seem to be back on track.

Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images
Let’s put an old basketball adage to the test.
Philadelphia 76ers’ forward Georges Niang is a 40.8 percent three-point shooter.
On the surface, this number suggests a knockdown shooter, one capable of shredding nylon on a nightly basis. But look closer, and his percentages come with an interesting little wrinkle.
In the 23 home games Niang has participated in this season, the seven-year veteran is converting on 46.1 pecent of his 5.6 attempts.

Jerry Jones thinks the Dallas Cowboys have the goods to go all the way.
The Cowboys smashed the Bucs 31-14 Monday night, and next up is a matchup against the 49ers and scrappy seventh round pick QB Brock Purdy.
With one postseason win under his team’s belt, Jones doesn’t think the Super Bowl is out of the question.
Jerry Jones has high hopes for the Cowboys moving forward. (Credit: Getty Images)
Jerry Jones has lofty expectations.
“I like to think that we can put something together that can go win it. That’s very evasive, been very evasive for us.

The Dallas owner again addressed the standing of the team’s coach following the 31–14 rout of the Bucs on Monday night.
Headed into the Cowboys’ wild-card matchup against the Buccaneers on Monday night, questions lingered about coach Mike McCarthy’s job security, who had yet to win a playoff game in his first two seasons in Dallas. However, after the Cowboys routed Tom Brady and Tampa 31–14, franchise owner Jerry Jones gave perhaps his most ringing endorsement of McCarthy yet.

You can see the exact moment when he felt old.
LeBron James has been playing in the NBA for almost 20 years. When you play that long, there are going to be moments that might make you feel a little on the older side, and cameras and mics caught that perfect exchange Monday night. 
As the Lakers played the Rockets, rookie Jabari Smith Jr. was seen walking up to James to let him know that he played against his father back when James was a rookie in 2003. 
“You played against my dad you’re first NBA game ever—really, Sacramento,” Smith said.

USC’s Caleb Williams is the SI Sportsbook favorite to repeat as the Heisman Trophy winner for the 2023-24 season, ahead of North Carolina’s Drake Maye.
The most outstanding player in NCAA football has been awarded the Heisman Trophy annually since 1935. SI Sportsbook has released the opening odds for the 2023-24 season and the field is full of intriguing options for bettors.
Bettors once again should focus their investments on signal-callers as only three non-quarterbacks have won the award dating back to 2000.

A look back at the top Jen Piacenti’s waiver wire picks over the 2022 NFL season.
The 2022-2023 fantasy season has wrapped, and if you took home the trophy, you either had the world’s greatest draft or were a waiver-wire warrior. With the number one overall pick collectively considered a bust (RB Jonathan Taylor) and a few season-ending injuries along the way (RB Javonte Williams, QB Kyler Murray), those who were aggressive on the waiver wire could stay competitive.

76ers and Devils owner Josh Harris reportedly leads the field of contenders.
After considerable speculation, the sale of the Commanders will likely not include the world’s fourth-richest person.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is “likely out” of contention to purchase Washington’s NFL franchise, but the “door [is] not closed” according to a Monday night report from JP Finlay of NBC Sports Washington. The report outlined contenders for the soon-to-be-finalized sale, most notably 76ers and Devils owner Josh Harris.

The Baltimore Ravens took AFC North rival Cincinnati Bengals to its toes, with both teams going back and forth until DE Sam Hubbard scored off a 98-yard fumble recovery touchdown after Tyler Huntley lost the ball at the one-yard line to seal the victory. Lamar Jackson notably did not travel with the team. The Bengals will face the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Divisional Round. Emmanuel Acho, Joy Taylor, LeSean McCoy and David Helman share their takeaways from the Ravens loss.

There wasn’t any shuffling of the deck at the end of wild-card weekend.