The Numbers Didn’t Lie On Saturday For The Sixers
There is a popular quote that has made the rounds for years and that is “Numbers don’t lie, but they can deceive. “Never has this been more true than now, in the time where analytics can spit and spew numbers in dizzying fashion, whether to back a point trying to be made or to just confuse fans of the sport that they are watching. But Saturday’s Game One between the Sixers and Brooklyn Nets was a game about numbers and those numbers didn’t deceive, but in fact, told pretty much the whole story of why the Sixers dominated in a 121-101 win.
While the three-point shooting of the Sixers garnered most of the headlines as they were an astounding 21-for-43 from beyond, there were so many more numbers that helped form the story from Saturday’s game.
How about the fact that the Sixers attempted 89 shots compared to just 70 for the Nets. That may be the most unable-to-overcome stat that Brooklyn faced. A hustling group of Sixers led by P.J. Tucker went after offensive rebounds with a ferocity that hasn’t been seen much this season. It led to 14 offensive rebounds and was a key factor in the shot attempts disparity.
They turned the ball over just eight times, another ingredient to the shots differential. The shot 49 percent from three and 47 percent overall. And my favorite numbers when looking at how a team played – assists to made baskets. Well, the Sixers were super impressive there, assisting on 32 of their 42 field goals.
The numbers on Saturday certainly didn’t lie or deceive. To me, they were proof. Proof that the Sixers played well; proof that they are the dominant team; proof that they can beat a Brooklyn team even on a day when the Nets shot 56 from the floor and 45 percent from three. No, no deception or fallacies here. That was an old fashion ass-kicking on Saturday. And there aren’t any numbers to tell you different. No matter
how hard you look.
You May Also Like:
Philadelphia 76ers vs. Brooklyn Nets Round 1 Schedule
