The Philadelphia 76ers finished the 2020-21 season with an unfortunate loss to the upstart Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

It was a massive upset, but the main headline for news outlets was the additional dysfunction Atlanta's surprise victory sparked between the Sixers and Ben Simmons. At the moment, the front office has not entertained any serious trade negotiations, ensuring Doc Rivers is getting nothing from the second-most expensive roster slot on the team.

Philadelphia, up-and-down since the season tipped off in October, has lost four of its last five games. Joel Embiid has been trying to carry the franchise, but his numbers have plummeted from his MVP-caliber season a year ago. Tobias Harris, Tyrese Maxey and Seth Curry have shown flashes of brilliance, but they simply lack talent compared to most second bananas across the NBA.

Here are three reasons why the Simmons-less Sixers are pretenders, not contenders, for the Eastern Conference crown.

Go-to guy in the clutch

Even some of the best big men in NBA history had guards to rely on at crucial junctures of the game, such as Kobe Bryant for Shaquille O'Neal and Tony Parker for Tim Duncan. With Embiid's dominance on the block, it is not advisable to feed him the ball in the final two minutes and expect him to manufacture shots for himself and his teammates.

Curry has hit numerous clutch jumpers in his career, but most have come through remarkable ball movement. However, Philadelphia lacks an orchestrator who is a reliable scorer when defenses tighten up in the final minutes. For instance, their last two losses were due to the Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets executing better in the final moments of the game. Offenses cannot be stagnant for a squad that has aspirations of having a deep playoff run.

Consistency from role players

Harris signed a five-year max contract in summer 2019, but has not lived up to those gaudy terms. He's struggled to score even 20 points a game while drastically dropping his shooting percentage to just 45.9% this season. Efficiency and durability were two of his major strengths, but Harris has even missed nine games already this season.

Maxey was phenomenal to begin the season, but his numbers have regressed. Matisse Thybulle and Danny Green have not been consistently producing, either, with Rivers interchangin as the starter at the three position.

To be a legitimate threat in the East, Philadelphia must have several reliable role players who are capable of elevating their games in the playoffs. It's still plausible for guys like Harris and Maxey to find their rhythm as Rivers eventually settles on a nightly rotation, but that's still been an issue for the Sixers this season.

Embiid can't be best player on a title team

When it was a close tussle between Embiid and Nikola Jokic for MVP last season, there were discussions that Embiid might be the best player in basketball. There were instances when he showcased a multitude of abilities and became an unstoppable force for any opponent. There's still no doubt he's one of the league's best players, but leading a franchise to the mountaintop is a whole different argument.

Embiid still lacks the initiative and ability to rally the troops and propel them to greater heights. His production offensively and defensively is incredible, but there were playoff game last spring that Embiid went missing for his team. In Game 6 and Game 7 of their series against the Hawks, Embiid was sensational with 22 and 31 points, respectively, but the glaring number were the eight turnovers in each of the last two games.

Simmons was the individual lampooned for Philly's Game 7, but Embiid's crunch-time struggles played a part in it, too—and could rear their ugly head again in a few months if the Sixers prove healthy enough to get to the postseason.