Are Philadelphia 76ers having an identity crisis?

Front office

There are some flaws to this team that are tough to put on anyone in the organization, but the biggest reasons for the deficiencies of the Philadelphia 76ers are roster-based.

A leopard can’t change its spots, just like players can’t re-invent themselves mid-career. Jodh Richardson’s 3-point attempt rate of .392 is pretty close to his average from the previous two seasons (.417) and his percentage on those looks this season (35.8 percent) is pretty close to his career clip (36.7 percent).

The same can be said for Tobias Harris, whose career TS% (56.2), 3PAr (.279) and free throw rate (.244) are pretty similar to what he’s doing this season (57.0, .295 and .207 respectively).

Al Horford’s struggle to fit in is no accident either; though he can do well at the 4, he’s only had to do so next to a low-usage 5. The only seasons before this one where Horford played legitimate time next to another big (at least 20 percent of his minutes) were in 2010-11 and 2012-13, with Zaza Pachulia (career usage rate of 17.0 percent) and during his Celtics tenure with Aron Baynes (career USG% of 17.1 percent).

Those guys don’t operate in the post nearly as much as Joel Embiid does and those teams also had more traditional point guards than Ben Simmons (Mike Bibby and Jeff Teague in Atlanta, Isaiah Thomas and Kyrie Irving in Boston).

Speaking of normal guards, the Sixers have none in their starting lineup. Richardson is the only player you can consider a ball handler and he clearly isn’t good enough to do it full-time.

The best version of Trey Burke, a guard who can put the ball on the deck, score at all three levels and get everyone involved, solves a lot of Philly’s issues. The real Trey Burke, however, tends to make bone-headed decisions and isn’t a great defender.

The joke has been made by many since the whirlwind offseason ended, but the Sixers essentially start one guard (Richardson), two power forwards (Ben Simmons and Harris) and two centers (Horford and Embiid).

The front office hoped Richardson could do a lot of what Jimmy Butler did last season, but that hasn’t happened and there doesn’t seem to be a feasible solution besides him.

Unless everyone starts going out of their comfort zone to make this thing work or the Sixers make some major changes before the Feb. 6 trade deadline, this is going to be a long limp to the postseason.

They can still grind it out with anyone in the matchup ball that is the playoffs, but if they don’t start rattling off wins more consistently, their seeding may hold them back on the biggest stage.