The most important numbers to come out of the Sixers-Lakers game Sunday may be these:
16, 10, 13, 14, 13
Those were the field goal attempts for each of the five Sixers starters. Nice distribution. Nice balance. And nice execution -- four of those starters shot 60% or better from the floor.
The lone exemption: Ben Simmons, who totally crashed our Over 16.5 Points Prop Party -- as well as an open, running slam dunk that ricocheted all the way into the back court -- by shooting a season-low 23.1% (3-for-13).
Simmons should get his shots again -- maybe even another three-pointer in flow? -- and this time he should make enough for us to cover the Over, which is now down to 15.5 in some places.
Want another set of five numbers to chew on? Here ya go:
33, 52, 32, 37, 32
Those are Simmons’ Points+Rebounds+Assists totals in his last five games (including playoffs) against the Celtics, all of which exceed the total of 31.5 posted for this game. By the way, none of his P+R+A totals for the first six games of his career against the Celtics topped 31.5.
Pick: Simmonds Over 15.5 Points (-106)
Pick: Simmonds Over 31.5 Pts+Reb+Ast (-120)