IN THE LANE

THE TUCKER TOUCH: As could be expected, the Philadelphia 76ers are emphasizing the intangibles they expect from free-agent acquisition

P.J. Tucker. “P.J. has been around the block,” 76ers assistant coach Dave Joerger said of the former Heat forward to the 76ers’ website. “He’s got veteran—ness to him. He’s got experience to him. And he’s vocal. I think that’s really going to help our locker room. It’s going to help our team continue to grow through the journey of the season.”As with the Heat, the 76ers do not expect (or need) Tucker to lead statistically, instead merely offer the type of toughness that the 76ers lacked in their second-round playoff ouster at the hands of the Heat.“You’re going to see guys now come a little bit out of their shell with their personality — not outside of themselves, but that part of it can come out a little bit more as somebody is kind of out there in front,”Joerger said.“Now we have a catalyst for that and a leader in that area, and I think you’ll see guys’ toughness come out a little bit more than it has in the past.”

BACK AT IT: In the wake of Slovenia’s stunning championship at EuroBasket in 2017, then-Heat guard Goran Dragic viewed it as the perfect moment to step away from international competition. But with Slovenia about to open its defense of that title, Dragic is back on the European stage. The difference, Dragic said, is he now is there to support Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic, who he took under his wing in 2017. “The role will definitely be different,” Dragic, who signed last month with the Chicago Bulls in free agency, told EuroHoops.“I was Batman, but now I’ll be Robin. The most important thing will be to make sure we have good chemistry and be a leader on the court and lift guys up when it’s most difficult.” Dragic, 36, said he was released to rejoin the Slovenian national team by the Bulls only after passing a comprehensive physical, with his brother, Zoran Dragic, also a former Heat guard, providing the impetus.“Zoran was the one who talked all the time about this, every day,” Goran said.

PRECIOUS MOMENTS: As Precious Achiuwa emerged as a multiposition defender and 3-point threat last season, the balance of the Heat’s trade last August for Kyle Lowry could swing in the Toronto Raptors’ long-term favor. At least that’s the perspective offered by trainer Kenneth Miller to Sports Illustrated.“I think kind of after the All-Star break . . . he got a good feeling like, ‘OK, I feel like I can fit here, I belong here,’ ” Miller said of Achiuwa.“That was a coming-out party for him, and he’s just been building on it ever since.”Among the priorities is working on the finishing skills at the rim that Achiuwa lacked with the Heat after he was selected in the first round of the 2020 NBA draft out of Memphis.“The handle has improved a lot,” Miller said. “Finishing around the rim looks really good, playing off angles and creating his own shot off the dribble.”

NEW VISTA: Having appeared in only 39 NBA games in both 2019-20 and 2020-21, and then only six last season, split evenly between the 76ers and San Antonio Spurs, former Heat guard Tyler Johnson has moved to a contract with the Brisbane Bullets in Australia. He will team there with former NBA center Aron Baynes, his former teammate with the Phoenix Suns.“I have heard so many good things about the NBL,”Johnson, 30, told the league’s website. NBA players who have spent time with Brisbane in recent years include Suns guard Torrey Craig.

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0Games played with the Heat as an emergency COVID call-up last season by Aric Holman, who recently signed to play with Tezenis Verona in Italy. Holman was signed by the Heat last December as a matter of proximity, playing at the time for the San Antonio Spurs’ G League team in Austin, Texas, with the Heat needing to get a player to San Antonio in time for a game that night, a game ultimately postponed due to lack of available players. The power forward who went undrafted out of Mississippi State in 2019 has yet to appear in an NBA game. He was with the Houston Rockets in summer league last month.