What can Lakers-Heat teach the Philadelphia 76ers

2. Mix creators with specialists

Miami and L.A.’s roster consist of guys that can create their own offense, guys who can get them into their offense, and those that are specialists either defensively, or with 3-point shooting.

Danny Green, Rajon Rondo, Markieff Morris, and Dwight Howard, are all specialists for the Lakers. Green with his 3-point shooting, Howard with his rim protection, Morris and his ability to guard multiple positions, and Rondo with his ability to run the offense when James is on the bench or off-ball. But they also have creators: James and Davis of course, but also Caldwell-Pope, J.R. Smith, who hasn’t seen much time in the playoffs, Dion Waiters, who isn’t active, and Kyle Kuzma, who has secretly been the third best player on the floor with LeBron James and Anthony Davis

Miami is constructed similarly with Jae Crowder, Duncan Robinson, Andre Iguodala, Tyler Herro, Kelly Olynyk — all specialists in their own right. Robinson is a marksman from 3-point land, Crowder and Iguodala are defensive stalwarts, and Olynyk also being a 3-point shooter, creating space for creators such as Herro, Butler, Kendrick Nunn, and Goran Dragic.

The Sixers have a roster full of specialists. The front office constructed a team that could not generate offense when their sets broke down or were late in the shot clock. Joel Embiid is a prolific scorer around the rim and 15 feet away with a soft jumper, but in today’s league, that’s not close to being enough.

Don’t get confused: the Sixers CAN score. Tobias Harris CAN score. Josh Richardson CAN score. Ben Simmons (maddingly) CAN score. Al Horford CAN score. But this Sixers roster needs a player, or players, that can be x-factors any given night. A walking bucket that everyone can clear out for and get them a crunch time score. Look for Rivers to address this in the draft and free agency.