5 things we learned from the 76ers’ dismantling of the Heat

The Philadelphia 76ers’ first-round victory over the Miami Heat taught us plenty about both teams’ outlooks moving forward.

With Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid leading the way, the 76ers made quick work of the Heat in their first-round playoff series, cementing themselves as a force with which to be reckoned in the Eastern Conference.

The Heat, meanwhile, now enter the offseason with more questions than answers after their free-agent spending spree last summer couldn’t push them into the realm of title contention.

For the 76ers, long-term introspection will come later. In the meantime, they’ll have to use the lessons they learned against Miami to help them prepare for what they hope will be a deep playoff run. The physical, hard-fought series served as the perfect postseason appetizer for this young Philadelphia team, particularly considering how many of its players hadn’t reached the playoffs prior to this season.

Read More: Can the Heat find a trade for Hassan Whiteside?

The Heat should likewise re-examine their first-round series to search for takeaways that can inform their decisions moving forward. From a disgruntled center who may not be an ideal fit for the head coach’s system to a rising wing player who showed promising flashes of greatness, Miami has plenty to think about as it enters a summer in which it has no first-round picks or salary-cap space.

What should we take away from the 76ers-Heat series? Let’s walk through some of the biggest lessons.

Next: 5. The Sixers' young players are up for the challenge