PHILADELPHIA -- One big question facing the Philadelphia 76ers following the departure of Jimmy Butler in free agency over the offseason is who will be the team's go-to guy down the stretch of games. During his short stint with the Sixers last season Butler had largely assumed that role, especially come playoff time, when the ball was frequently in his hands with the clock winding down and he was expected to score or make a play for the team.

In Butler's absence the Sixers are still teeming with talent, but they're lacking the clear role delineation that they had with Butler as their closer last season. According to forward Tobias Harris though, the Sixers won't necessarily have a designated go-to guy, and instead will ride the hot hand, or let the game situation dictate who gets the ball.  

"Obviously, we have a lot of talent on this team so everybody wants to know who the go-to guy is, but to be honest it's going to be whoever has it going," Harris said regarding the closer question. "... What we're really building in camp right now is just that [connectivity] and cohesiveness and understanding one another's games. Late in the game, us being able to think it out ourselves and find a basket. That's where we're really looking at right now."

Harris thinks that all of the talent on the team will work to generate multiple mismatches that they will be able to exploit in order to produce points down the stretch of games.

"It's something I work very hard on to be able to put myself in those positions to create a shot for our team," Harris said. "... We have the best center in the game, we have one of the best young players in the game in Ben Simmons who creates a lot of mismatches too. On a nightly basis, we're going to have different mismatches to go to."

Such an opportunistic approach could work for a Sixers squad that boasts arguably the league's most formidable first five, where each member brings something unique to the offensive end. Sometimes it could be a perimeter player like Harris or Josh Richardson who will be looked at to knock down a clutch shot (a role that J.J. Redick had for the Sixers last season), while other times paint players like Joel Embiid and Al Horford will be the offensive focal point.

While speaking about this very topic last week, Sixers head coach Brett Brown referred to Embiid as the team's "crown jewel" (not the first time he has called Embiid this), leading one to believe that the team will often look to Embiid as the first option in late-game scenarios, which makes sense as he is the team's top player.

"Joel Embiid is our crown jewel," Brown said. "Might we say, based on a matchup, you got Al Horford, or Tobias, or Ben [Simmons] has got somebody smaller [on him], of course."

This is logical. Embiid may be option 1A, but he's far from the only option. It can be challenging for a team to have a post player as their main closer, as they often need another player to get them the ball via an entry pass, while a perimeter player can usually generate their own offense without having to rely on a teammate. Thus, it will benefit the Sixers to have multiple potential go-to guys for situations where the opposition takes away Embiid as an option (either by doubling or fronting), especially come the playoffs.

It would not be surprising at all to see Brown draw up crunch-time plays for all of the members of his starting five over the course of the regular season, so that they each have some level of comfort in such situations in order to be prepared for postseason play.