Mike Muscala was literally running over Head Coach Mike Budenholzer's head.
Budenholzer had only called on his 6-foot-11 reserve forward/center for four minutes of the Hawks' 102-101 Game 1 win over a Celtics team that featured numerous small lineups. So while Budenholzer took the podium for a postgame press conference on the Philips Arena practice court, Muscala squeezed in some extra cardio, jogging on a treadmill behind the tinted glass of the fitness room that overlooks the court.
The snapshot summed up Muscala's season. The Hawks didn't always call his number, but when they did, he was going to be sure that he was ready.
"It was up and down for me," Muscala said at the end of the season. "There were some good stretches, and it was a challenging year for me. But this next week or two, I'll have some time to reflect on it."
Muscala averaged 3.3 points and 2.0 rebounds per game while averaging just over 9 minutes in 60 games played.
"It should be a good offseason," Muscala added. "I'll get a chance to improve my game and come back stronger next year."
Summer goals for Muscala may include continuing to work on the soft touch he’s shown at times on his jumper, as well as working on his defense on the low block.
Muscala will also be looking to maintain the positives too.
The NBA is keeping track of hustle stats for the first time during the 2016 postseason, and those playoff stats may be the best place to get a sense of how much the 24-year-old contributed to the Hawks.
On a team that made a defensive priority of having their big men get out to challenge shooters, Muscala did it very well. He contested 40 shots in just 67 playoff minutes. To put that in perspective, consider that the Hawks were the top-rated shot-contesters and that Muscala racked up contested shots at the highest per-minute rate on the team. In those 67 minutes, Muscala also fared well in rebounds (17), screen assists (6), deflections (5), and loose balls recovered (2).
So if the playoffs were any indication of where he is headed, it would be wise to expect good things from Mike Muscala in the 2016-17 season.
Story by KL ChouinardTwitter: @KLChouinard