Credit elite scouting for 76ers execution on game-saving possession vs. Heat

After an extremely close game with the Miami Heat in the play-in tournament, the Philadelphia 76ers are on their way to a first-round series with the New York Knicks after picking up the 105-104 win on Wednesday night. One play that helped clinch the win for the 76ers was Nicolas Batum's block on Tyler Herro's three-point attempt in the closing seconds of regulation. That virtually ended any chance the Heat had of forcing overtime or picking up the win.

While speaking with reporters after the game, Nicolas Batum credited his block on Herro to the coaching staff of the Sixers, per Adam Aaronson of The Philly Voice. The veteran said that the "coaches showed me that play literally like a minute before."

The Sixers needed this block and a lot of other defensive plays, as they shot 41.9 percent from the floor. With O.G. Anunoby set to lock up either Tobias Harris or Tyrese Maxey for the entire first-round series, Philadelphia will need a great set of defensive adjustments if they want to win this series. The franchise will need to lock in on the offensive end with Mitchell Robinson defending Joel Embiid for minutes.

With some points possibly hard to come by in their first-round series, will the Sixers need to these kinds of adjustments or have to go hero ball from one of their two stars?

Will the Sixers need adjustments to beat the Knicks in a seven-game series?

The Sixers are going into this series overmatched and will likely need a good defensive game plan if they want to beat New York. The 76ers certainly have a bunch of three and D-wings that coach Nurse and his staff can work with, but they will likely need to outthink New York if they want to beat them in a seven-game series.

The Knicks have a lot of offensive talent that will need to be silenced. Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo, Anunoby, and others make New York have covered more than admirably, even without the services of Julius Randle. The Knicks will likely force the Sixers coaching staff to make a couple of adjustments that will be the difference between victory and loss.

Game 1 between the 76ers and Knicks takes place on Saturday, Apr. 20, at 6:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.