The Atlanta Hawks had a solid center rotation this season. How well did their backup center play?
Atlanta Hawks center Mike Muscala is an interesting NBA success story. Muscala played four years of college basketball at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania, before beginning his NBA journey.
“Moose” racked up plenty of accolades while in college. His senior season he was named Patriot League Player of the Year and Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year.
In June 2013, the Dallas Mavericks selected him 44th overall in the 2013 NBA Draft. His rights were then traded to the Atlanta Hawks. However, Muscala would begin his professional career elsewhere.
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Muscala spent the beginning of the 2013-14 season with Rio Natura Monbus in Spain’s Liga ACB, before finally signing with the Hawks in February 2014.
Muscala has played in Atlanta ever since, serving as a backup to Al Horford and now Dwight Howard.
He’s not a starter in the league. He’s often not an impact player. Still, Muscala is a solid contributor on a team that regularly makes the playoffs.
He’s a Patriot League success story and his journey from Bucknell to Atlanta is impressive.
What’s more impressive is his performance during the 2016-17 season. Muscala undoubtedly had the best season of his career this season. How did he do it?
The Good
Muscala played limited minutes during his first few seasons in Atlanta. His role seemed to increase in importance every season. He played 20 games in 2013-14, 40 games in 2014-15, and 60 games in 2015-16. The trend continued this past season.
Muscala played the most minutes of his career in 2016-17, which led to by far the best statistical season of his career. Muscala played 17.7 minutes per game over 70 games. Both were career highs.
Muscala finished the season averaging 6.2 points and 3.4 rebounds per night on 50.4 percent from the field and 41.8 percent from three-point range. Muscala’s floor-stretching abilities were extremely important to a Hawks team that struggled from behind the arc all season.
Mike Budenholzer would often play Muscala ahead of Dwight Howard in crunch-time because of the spacing his presence provided. Although, that wasn’t always the case. Muscala proved to be a versatile third big that could play in various lineups.
Muscala got minutes at center playing alongside Paul Millsap, he also played beside Howard at times as a power forward. Muscala is a skilled offensive player and his game is perfectly suited for the modern NBA.
He wasn’t a huge impact player for the Hawks this season, but he finally carved out the perfect role for himself on this team.
The Bad
Injuries slightly hampered Muscala’s season. He still only missed 12 games. An ankle injury suffered in the first quarter of a game against the Milwaukee Bucks was the reason for his brief absence. He still bounced back and was able to put that injury behind him in the second half of the season.
Muscala’s postseason performance was by far the most disappointing part of his season. Much like during the regular season, Mike Budenholzer elected to play Muscala over Dwight Howard late in games during the postseason.
As we’ve mentioned, Budenholzer preferred Muscala due to his mobility and his three-point shooting ability. Muscala didn’t play well in Atlanta’s first round series against the Washington Wizards.
Muscala played in all six games, averaging 2.8 points and 2.7 rebounds per game on 27.8 percent shooting. He failed to make a single three-pointer on four attempts. That’s what is so tough about the playoffs.
It’s small sample size theater. A six-game sample does not accurately reflect Mike Muscala’s ability as a basketball player. It won’t impact how he’s viewed in free agency, but it did provide a sour end to an otherwise fantastic season.
Muscala’s Best Performance
Here at Soaring Down South we have not really looked for nuance while trying to determine a player’s best performance of the season. We look for the game where a player went out and got buckets. Buckets are beautiful and we apologize for nothing.
The performance also has to come in a victory. You play to win the game (shout-out Dennis Green). Muscala’s best game came early in Atlanta’s season. On Nov. 16, Atlanta nabbed a 107-100 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Muscala finished the game with 16 points, five rebounds, and three assists on 6-for-11 from the field and 3-for-4 from free-throw line. Muscala made just one three-pointer, making his high-scoring night all the more impressive.
Honorable mention goes to Muscala’s 16-point effort in December against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Muscala shot 6-for-9 from the field that night in a 92-84 Atlanta loss.
What’s Next?
Mike Muscala’s time with the Hawks may be coming to a close. Muscala is an unrestricted free agent this summer and it’s unclear if Atlanta will have the cap room to bring him back. Muscala could fetch a handsome deal on the open market.
Teams are always looking for centers that can space the floor Muscala fits that description. I don’t imagine there’s a team that believes he should be their starting center, but it isn’t difficult to picture the Brooklyn Nets signing him to be Brook Lopez’s backup.
Then again, it’s clear that Mike Budenholzer has a lot of faith in Muscala. Whether or not his postseason performance has lessened that faith remains to be seen. If this really is the end of his time with the Hawks, fans should remember Muscala positively.