- Height: 6’8
- Age: 27
- Entering 4th NBA Season
- College: Virginia
Mike Scott #32 2014-2015 Stats
- 7.8 points per game
- 2.9 rebounds per game
- 1.1 assists per game
- 15.14 PER
- 44.4 percent field goal percentage
- 34.4 percent three-point percentage
- 79.2 percent free-throw percentage
2014-2015 Season Recap
The new craze that is sweeping the NBA is small-ball. Gone are the days of lumbering frontlines built with giants who make up for their lack of skill by cracking skulls whenever point guards dare enter the paint. Post players are now expected to flash at least some semblance of basketball skill.
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The Atlanta Hawks have completely embraced this new way of life, boasting a frontcourt with Paul Millsap and Al Horford. Two “undersized” players that can pass, shoot and defend. Of course, you need more than two players in a post rotation. The Hawks needed a backup for Millsap that fills that “stretch-four” role. Over the last two seasons that role has gone to former Virginia forward Mike Scott.
When he has been healthy, Scott has given the Hawks exactly what they need off the bench. Injuries to Atlanta’s frontcourt during the 2013-2014 season allowed Scott to find his way into the rotation after a rookie season in which he barely found the court.
He played 80 games that season, averaging 9.6 points and 3.6 rebounds per game on 47.9 percent shooting and 31 percent from three-point range in 18.5 minutes per game. Last season was a bit more difficult for Scott.
He missed 14 games due to a toe injury and saw his numbers regress slightly. His overall shooting percentage slipped by 3.5 percent, but he did shoot better from outside. His primary role is to knock down three-pointers off the bench, so if he is around league average from deep, the Hawks will live with that production. Especially when he plays less than 20 minutes per game.
He did struggle during the 2015 Playoffs, only averaging 15.4 minutes per game with a field goal percentage under 40 percent and a three-point percentage of an abysmal 15.4 percent. Mike Muscala started to steal some of his minutes as the postseason progressed, but whether or not that would carry over into the 2015-2016 was unclear.
Mike Scott is nothing special, he’s a role player that has worked hard to carve out his niche in the NBA. After last season, the idea was that Scott would continue to compete with Mike Muscala for minutes as the back-up power forward. He was regarded as a good player to have in the locker room and he has emoji tattoos. You have to love that. He’s not a player that will make or break your roster, but he was a solid piece of the puzzle.
Then the summer of 2015 happened.
2015-2016 Season Preview
What’s one thing you can’t do in the NBA when you’re a non-essential role player? Getting arrested for possession of marijuana and MDMA in amounts large enough for the charge to be considered a felony would qualify. Not ideal, Mike, not ideal.
In case you have forgotten, Scott was in the passenger seat of a car his brother was driving when police stopped them. Scott and his brother had possession of over an ounce of marijuana and 10.9 grams of MDMA. They were both arrested. During questioning with the police, Scott admitted that all of the drugs were his.
If convicted he could be sentenced to as many as 25 years in prison. Is it likely that he faces the maximum penalty? Probably not, but it means he still could be facing jail-time. That’s a distraction the Hawks can’t afford as they attempt to return to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Even so, his teammates have been supportive. Al Horford spoke to Sports Illustrated in August, during the interview he mentioned Scott. SI’s Jeremy Woo asked Horford if he had reached out to Scott since his arrest. “Yeah, we worked out together last week. Mike is doing OK,” Horford said. “He’s doing good. Obviously, tough situation for him, but we’re standing behind him. He’s my teammate, he’s been my teammate for years now and he’s got my full support always.”
At media day Scott seemed eager to put this behind him.
"“I don’t like to make other people look bad,” Scott said. “I don’t like to embarrass people. I don’t want to feel embarrassed. I thought it made us look bad a little bit. I take full responsibility for that. Moving on.”"
As I mentioned in the previous section, when it comes to basketball, Scott’s role is not guaranteed. With Tiago Splitter now on the roster that takes away minutes in the post rotation. Instead of Scott and Mike Muscala playing alongside one another, they’ll be competing for playing time. Last season Muscala shot better from the field and from three-point range than Scott did. In the playoffs Muscala impressed by scoring quickly and efficiently whenever he got on the court. He’s also significantly taller than Scott, which would in theory help with rim protection and Atlanta’s rebounding troubles. Was Muscala’s increased playing time a sign of things to come?

Sir Charles In Charge
Coach Budenholzer will likely use training camp and the early portion of the regular season to get a gauge on how exactly his playing rotation will shake out. It wouldn’t shock me to see Scott get his usual 18 minutes per game when the season starts, but it also wouldn’t be surprising to see Muscala take over that role.
I expect this to be Scott’s last season with the Hawks. He has $3.3 million guaranteed for this season, but Atlanta holds a team option for the 2016-2017 season. Nobody knows exactly how his legal situation will play out, but I’d still expect the Hawks to move on with a ready-made replacement in Muscala.
Next: 5 Hawks Predictions for 2015-2016
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