Atlanta Hawks: Top 5 Bench Players in 2016
By John Buhler
. Power Forward/Center. Bucknell. Mike Muscala. 4. player. 125
I think Coach Bud is letting the Moose loose in 2015-16. Mike Muscala continues to develop with every bit of action he gets on the court. After being sparingly used in the first half of last season, Moose became an important piece in the Atlanta Hawks’ rotation, especially in the playoffs.
Muscala is the leader of the Atlanta Hawks’ Las Vegas Summer League team that is marching its way through the playoff part of the developmental program. It’s becoming clear that he is too good for Summer League play as a strong stretch five coming off the bench for Bud. What I do like is the leadership he is developing out in Las Vegas. I feel that Muscala becoming a leader off the bench for the Hawks will bode well for the team this winter.
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Towards the end of the 2015 season, you could start to see Mike Muscala as the 9th-11th player on the Atlanta Hawks’ depth chart. Though Bud normally runs 12 or even 13 deep in some regular season matches, he rarely expands beyond 10 come playoff time. Where it stands now I see Moose as the fourth big man on the Hawks, capable of playing both the four and the five well on both ends of the court.
Moose is a fan favorite here in Atlanta for the last year and a half. I’m eager to see just how good Mike Muscala can get for the Atlanta Hawks in 2015-16. Heading into this season, I’m confident in the occasional spot-start for Moose if Bud chooses to rest either Millsap or Horford one night during the grind that is the NBA regular season.
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