Mike Muscala knows the Hawks will have their hands full with the Cavaliers’ big men in the Eastern Conference finals. The center figures to play a role in the game plan.
Muscala saw increased playing time in the semifinals against the Wizards, especially in late in games. In Games 5 and 6, Muscala was on the floor considerably more than Pero Antic, the first big off the bench. Muscala played 15 and 12 minutes, and Antic played seven and five.
Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer would not say following Tuesday’s practice whether he will change his big-man rotation against the Cavaliers.
“Mike Muscala has played well, and he’ll continue to get opportunities,” Budenholzer said. “We have confidence. It’s the great thing about our bigs and our bench, we have a couple different ways we can go. We’ll just see the game, feel the game, and the series and try to find a mixture to give ourselves our best chance with our bigs.”
Muscala said there are lessons to take from the series against the Wizards.
“They are a little different than Washington whose bigs post up more.” Muscala said. “(The Cavaliers) are really effective on the offensive glass, Tristan Thompson and Timofey Mozgov, and they can really run the floor, too. The thing you can take from it is to match their physicality from the get-go. Don’t let them hit you first. Have a hit-first mentality, that’s what Coach Bud says.
“Set the tone early and don’t let them come in and starting hitting and getting offensive rebounds quickly. Then the refs see that and they are going to get the advantage in terms of the calls.”
Tickets still available: According to the Hawks' web site, tickets were available late Tuesday afternoon in several sections of Philips Arena for Game 1. Tickets were listed as available from the venue, including in the 400 level. Earlier this week, the Hawks offered all team employees two free tickets to the game.
Double-doubles: The Hawks have had five different players record at least one double-double this postseason, tied for the second-highest total in one playoff in franchise history. In 1961, the St. Louis Hawks had seven different players post double-doubles. The year for the Hawks, Al Horford has recorded seven double-doubles, Paul Millsap five, DeMarre Carroll two and Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver (the first of his career) both have one.
Chip on his shoulder: Carroll always has some words of wisdom to share. That was no different on the eve of the Eastern Conference finals. Carroll was asked about being in the role of underdog in the series, despite being the No. 1 seed.
“I love (the underdog role),” Carroll said. “Junkyard Dog. What do you think of when you think of a junkyard dog? You don’t think of no pretty, nice dog. You think of being in a junkyard with dirt. That’s the beauty of it. You should always want to play with a chip on your shoulder. My uncle always told me don’t play like you have a chip on your shoulder, be sure to play like you have a log on your shoulder. That’s what we are going to try to do.”
About the Author
