Out of all the contending iterations of the Philadelphia 76ers over the past few years, this 2022-23 team appears to be the team most equipped to make a deep postseason run. Joel Embiid has never played at a higher level, not a small feat given how well he has played over the past few seasons. Meanwhile, James Harden seems to have settled in nicely in his role as the Sixers' lead guard.

Leading the Sixers' supporting cast around those two are Tyrese Maxey, whose move to the bench has given their squad much-needed balance, Tobias Harris, who has exerted more effort on defense amid his move down the usage totem pole, and De'Anthony Melton, who is a terrific point-of-attack defender as well as a passing lane menace.

Rounding out the Sixers squad are PJ Tucker, whose defensive flexibility simplifies even the toughest of matchups and Jalen McDaniels, whose offensive game makes him more playoff-viable than Matisse Thybulle.

Overall, head coach Doc Rivers has plenty of pieces to play around with. The Sixers can shapeshift defensively depending on the matchup, and they remain one of the most annoying teams to defend given their stars' ability to draw fouls. As a result, the Sixers have the fourth-best net rating in the league as one of only three teams at the moment with an offensive and defensive rating in the top 10.

But as Joel Embiid, James Harden, and the rest of the Sixers would attest to, regular season excellence doesn't guarantee postseason success. They will have to overcome this major flaw if they were to seize the opportunity amid a wide-open title race.

Here's the fatal flaw the Sixers should address following the All-Star break.

Sixers' fatal flaw: Inability to adjust in the postseason

Ah yes, the coaching mythos of Glenn “Doc” Rivers. Is it really true that Rivers is simply unable to adjust come postseason time? Is it true that he decides to ride or die with the system he has in place, much to the detriment of his team?

Those who play fighting games are familiar with the concept of the “download”. In fighting games, unfamiliarity and shock value could lead to a few surprise wins until an opponent figures out the entire strategy. This then allows them to take control of the series and never look back.

Thus, there is a bit of merit to that widespread fan assumption. After all, Rivers is the only coach in NBA history to blow two 3-1 series leads in the playoffs, let alone do so thrice. Clippers fans loathe Rivers for this exact reason.

As unfair as it might be to pin most of the blame on Doc Rivers, he will forever have that blemish on his resume. Even during his first season with the Sixers, he struggled to maximize his team's talent advantage over the plucky Atlanta Hawks.

Heck, even Blake Griffin, former Clipper, former Rivers player, fired a shot towards Rivers' purported inability to adjust. Less than two weeks ago, Griffin said that Rivers' failure to make adjustments “has been sort of a thing” when the Sixers failed to cover Griffin from deep despite the forward's hot shooting.

Nevertheless, there have been signs that Doc Rivers has been making some key adjustments that could go a long way towards their hunt for a championship. Bringing Tyrese Maxey off the bench was one such adjustment. Another one was the key adjustment the Sixers made during their highly-anticipated matchup against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets in late January.

One would think that Joel Embiid is the perfect cover for Jokic. After all, Jokic could bully his way into the paint, and with his sublime scoring touch, he could bend the defenses to his will when given the opportunity. But for the first half of that contest, the Nuggets offense flowed like it always has with Embiid defending Jokic.

In the second half, however, PJ Tucker took on the challenge of guarding Nikola Jokic. Despite the borderline laughable height disadvantage, Tucker's low center of gravity enabled him to be sturdy enough cover on Jokic on the post, leaving Embiid to roam around as the last line of defense. This allowed the Sixers to maximize Embiid's best asset as a defender – his rim protection – and Philly took home a 126-119 win as a result.

(Thinking Basketball on YouTube has an incredibly informative video on the Sixers' defensive strategy against Nikola Jokic.)

The Sixers will have plenty of adjustments to make as they try to overcome the Eastern Conference gauntlet. Facing Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks or Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics, for example, comes with its own specific set of conundrums to solve. Sixers fans will be hoping that Doc Rivers would have the answer to each and every question their opponents would ask of them.