Mike Muscala: Is the Hawks Big Man Making the Jump?
By Tom Atkinson
The season is young but players are already making impressions. Mike Muscala has started hot but is he finally making the jump to becoming a key player in the rotation?
It’s been a good start to the NBA season for the Atlanta Hawks with two consecutive wins against the Wizards and the 76ers. That allays many fears because of the doubts the team has carried into the fall from the offseason.
A summer of key departures and big-money arrivals has left the team in limbo and no one was really sure what to make of them. Al Horford and Jeff Teague left, Jarrett Jack came and then left, and Dwight Howard signed and Kent Bazemore returned. Thankfully, the changes have not signalled a difficult start to the season but two wins with lots of different contributors.
One player who has played a considerable role is forward/center Mike Muscala. He was drafted in the second round out of Bucknell in 2013, having won Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards at the collegiate level and becoming Bucknell’s all-time leading scorer. This summer, his team option was picked up by the Hawks and so he is now starting the fourth season of his career.
In the past, he has shown glimpses of magic. He has flashed offensive skills with his shooting range and soft touch, both from the free-throw line and with his passing. He also teased us with some defensive talents, averaging .5 blocks per game despite never averaging more than 13 minutes. Coach Mike Budenholzer has shown a lot of faith in Moose, giving him more minutes than expected, and by picking up the option, Muscala was clearly in the team’s plans.
Why? Because the potential is there. If he develops, the 25-year-old big man can become something in this league. Not a star, but something. There is no doubt that he could impress with his passing, shooting, rebounding and blocking, which is a pretty well-rounded skillset. The problem is that he was not developing and was a risk to never become anything more than a minor role big man in the NBA.
The first two games of this season, though, look like this could the start of big things. Off the bench, Muscala has averaged 23.5 minutes and has improved his numbers in every way.
2015-16 Season Averages: 3.3 points, 2 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.2 steals, and 0.5 blocks.
2016-17 Averages (so far): 11.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.5 steals, and 2.5 blocks.
Admittedly, we haven’t seen much this year. Two games is a very, very small sample size but those improvements are massive. His field goal percentage has even risen to .714 and he’s a solid .333 from the arc. Again, two games are not enough to safely make any assumptions but Muscala is showing what he can do. He has taken advantage of injuries to Mike Scott and Tiago Splitter and the improved minutes that brings, and shown that he truly does have a place in this rotation.
There have been some really impressive starts to this NBA season for the Hawks. Tim Hardaway Jr has answered his critics with 14 points per game. Sefolosha has been magical with his all-round contributions, defensive efforts, steals, and dunks. Muscala, though, as the team’s fifth-highest scorer, has had a particularly noteworthy rise.
He has been efficient with his shooting, even from range, and has been especially impactful on the D, with huge numbers in steals and blocks. Moose offers a completely different playstyle to starter Dwight Howard and that gives the Hawks a variety of options.
And, playing both the four and the five, Muscala should be up for more minutes all season long. That will give him the perfect chance to prove himself consistent and continue to impress.
It’s too early to say for sure but Mike Muscala has started as though he might finally be making the jump.
Next: Hawks/Kings Game Preview
Can he keep it up? I guess we’ll find out tonight against the Sacramento Kings.