<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/celtics-news-jayson-tatum-will-like-reason-behind-mike-muscala-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'Celtics star Jayson Tatum will be pumped with Brad Stevens’ reason behind Mike Muscala trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Celtics-news-Jayson-Tatum-will-be-pumped-with-Brad-Stevens_-reason-behind-Mike-Muscala-trade.jpg"></figure><h1>Celtics star Jayson Tatum will be pumped with Brad Stevens’ reason behind Mike Muscala trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-02-10T17:49:38-08:00">February 10th, 5:49pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-02-10T17:49:38-08:00">February 10th, 5:49pm</time><address><a>Paolo Songco</a>A father of two over-energetic boys, Pao has been a writer for ClutchPoints for many years. His passion lies in all things NBA and he has a knack for speaking his mind in his articles -- even when at times it gets him into trouble with the fans. Controversial? Maybe. Excellent writer? Definitely.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Boston Celtics did not get a Kevin Durant or a Kyrie Irving during the frenetic NBA trade deadline. They did, however, acquire Mike Muscala from the Oklahoma City Thunder as a bit of an <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-trade-grade-mike-muscala-deal-thunder" rel="noopener">under-the-radar deal</a> amid the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavs-news-luka-doncic-shocking-take-suns-kevin-durant-trade" rel="noopener">craziness</a> of the past couple of days.</p><p>If you think about it, the Celtics don’t really need a blockbuster deal right now. They are the top team in the NBA and they are clearly confident in the ability of this current group. What they needed was some help around the edges, and this is exactly why they decided to trade for a guy like Mike Muscala.</p><p>“When people described Mike … they always talked about the way he approached his work, the way he was as a teammate, the way <a href="https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2023/02/celtics-brad-stevens-on-mike-muscala-trade-thats-a-person-you-want-to-have.html" rel="noopener">he competed to win</a>,” Celtics president Brad Stevens said, via Souichi Terada of Mass Live. “That was the most important thing. Anybody that played with him would tell you they love playing with him, which, an alarm goes off in your head. That’s a person you want to have around.”</p><p>Jayson Tatum is going to love this. Muscala isn’t going to drop 30 points on any given night, but he should have no problem fitting in with his new team — not to mention the skillset that the 6-foot-10 big man brings to the table.</p><p>The Celtics didn’t give up much to get Muscala. They parted ways with Justin Jackson and two future second-round picks, and it is clear that the team is very happy with the Muscala deal. According to Stevens, he already envisions Mike’s role in the rotation alongside Tatum and the rest of the squad:</p><p>“In the last couple years, we’ve been good when we played big,” Stevens said. “He’s versatile enough to do some things defensively, but he’s also obviously super-skilled and makes the right play, ball doesn’t stick in his hands very long, all that stuff.”</p><p>At this point, however, don’t expect heavy minutes from Mike Muscala. Brad Stevens has already set the expectations for the 31-year-old veteran, and it seems that Muscala will have no issues with the same:</p><p>“I think we’ve got 13 players that can play and impact each other in a really good way, but we also have a bunch of guys that don’t need to do it every night,” Stevens said. “So that ability to play but not have to need to play is a big deal, and I think that’s what we need to have as a team. It’s not about an individual. This is a goal and I think Mike understands that and our other players understand it.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Celtics star Jayson Tatum will be pumped with Brad Stevens’ reason behind Mike Muscala trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/celtics-trade-grade-mike-muscala-deal-thunder');   ga('set', 'title', 'Celtics trade grade for Mike Muscala deal with Thunder');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Celtics-trade-grades-for-Mike-Muscala-deal-with-Thunder.jpg"></figure><h1>Celtics trade grade for Mike Muscala deal with Thunder</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-02-09T13:44:42-08:00">February 9th, 1:44pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-02-09T13:45:42-08:00">February 9th, 1:45pm</time><address><a>Daniel Donabedian</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>With only a few hours left before the passing of a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-trade-deadline-2023-tracking-kevin-durant-and-every-other-deal" rel="noopener">crazy 2023 NBA trade deadline</a>, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-trade-deadline-celtics-acquire-mike-muscala-thunder" rel="noopener">Boston Celtics made a move</a> for former Oklahoma City Thunder big man Mike Muscala.</p><p>The C’s dealt forward Justin Jackson and two second-round picks in return for the 31-year-old.</p><p>While the Thunder are <a href="https://twitter.com/IanBegley/status/1623743545503846401?s=20&amp;t=picOqhTqhECTgn2HAeNbJA">expected to</a> waive Jackson and remain content with their picks, Boston will keep Muscala and likely utilize him off the bench as a 6-foot-11 center who can also shoot.</p><p>The C’s didn’t even come close to making the biggest deal of the trade deadline, yet their trade is still worthy of a grade and further examination.</p><h2><b>Celtics trade for Mike Muscala: B+</b></h2><p>As the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/instant-breakdown-sixers-celtics-joel-embiid-jayson-tatum" rel="noopener">current 1-seed</a> in the Eastern Conference, the Celtics weren’t desperate to make a splash at the deadline like other teams. Yet, it never hurts to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-bostons-biggest-need-2023-nba-trade-deadline" rel="noopener">add more depth</a> to a solid roster, so that’s where Muscala comes in.</p><p>The big man has bounced around the league as of late, as he has been on the Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers, and Oklahoma City Thunder during his 11-year career. While he has never been more than a bench piece for all of these teams, Muscala has still put up decent numbers.</p><p>This season with the Thunder before the trade, he averaged 6.2 points in his limited 14.5 minutes per outing. More importantly, though, he shot 39.4% from deep and 43.8% from the field overall. These aren’t game-breaking numbers, yet he has shown he can shoot from beyond the arc and provide some meaningful bench minutes.</p><p>While <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-kyrie-irving-reacts-lebron-james-breaking-all-time-scoring-record">everyone celebrated</a> LeBron James for breaking the all-time scoring record against the Thunder on Tuesday night, Muscala was sneakily torching the Lakers. He dropped 16 points in only 17 minutes and made four of his seven attempted triples. Of course, there were more significant things happening that game, but it was also a showcase of what the former second-round pick can do off the bench.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">In Mike Muscala's last game with the Thunder, he absolutely punished the Lakers on LeBron James Day.  He was 4-for-7 from deep and outscored AD 16-to-13.</p><p>— Bill Sy (@deliberatepix) <a href="https://twitter.com/deliberatepix/status/1623728444579393536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 9, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Although Muscala isn’t a household name, giving up a few picks and Justin Jackson for him isn’t a bad deal. Jackson barely played for Boston this season (4.7 minuter per game) and didn’t look great during his limited opportunities. Of course, it’d be nice if the C’s acquired Muscala for even less, however, given the pick-heavy status of the current trade market, Boston’s front office didn’t sacrifice too much in their offer.</p><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rumor-celtics-offer-to-spurs-for-jakob-poeltl-before-raptors-trade" rel="noopener">Celtics reportedly</a> made a run at former San Antonio Spurs center Jakob Poeltl, yet their deal wasn’t enough to beat Toronto’s offer:</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Boston’s trade offer for Jakob Poetl: </p><p>Payton Pritchard<br>Danilo Gallinari <br>Multiple future second-round picks </p><p>Spurs declined. </p><p>(Via <a href="https://twitter.com/BrianTRobb?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BrianTRobb</a> ) <a href="https://t.co/IwLR0UZDWg">pic.twitter.com/IwLR0UZDWg</a></p><p>— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheNBACentral/status/1623709389382160384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 9, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Overall, Boston’s trade activity has been limited. But with the best record in the league, they didn’t need to make any major deals. And even though the deal for Muscala was far from ground-breaking, it added a little depth for little cost.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Celtics trade grade for Mike Muscala deal with Thunder

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-trade-deadline-celtics-acquire-mike-muscala-thunder');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA trade deadline: Celtics acquire Mike Muscala from Thunder');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/NBA-trade-deadline-Celtics-acquire-Mike-Muscala-from-Thunder.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA trade deadline: Celtics acquire Mike Muscala from Thunder</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-02-09T08:59:06-08:00">February 9th, 8:59am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-02-09T09:23:26-08:00">February 9th, 9:23am</time><address><a>Owen Crisafulli</a>My name is Owen Crisafulli, and I recently received my Masters in Business Administration from Nichols College. Previously, I obtained my Bachelor's degree in Sport Management, and for awhile I ran my own sports website. Sports are my passion, and I thoroughly enjoy writing about my thoughts and opinions that are related to the game. I have been a lifelong fan of the major professional teams in Boston, and love discussing all topics surrounding those teams.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rumor-celtics-offer-to-spurs-for-jakob-poeltl-before-raptors-trade" rel="noopener">Boston Celtics</a> have been looking to shore up their big man rotation all season long after entering the year relatively short handed at the position. They managed to do just that on NBA Trade Deadline day, pulling off a deal with the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-shai-gilgeous-alexander-arrives-for-lakers-okc-game-rocking-epic-astro-boy-kicks" rel="noopener">Oklahoma City Thunder</a> that will see them acquire shooting big man <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1623725822824615936" rel="noopener">Mike Muscala</a> to come in and play behind Robert Williams III and Al Horford.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Boston is sending Justin Jackson and two second-round picks to OKC for Mike Muscala, sources said. <a href="https://t.co/RvdgZJE8n8">https://t.co/RvdgZJE8n8</a></p><p>— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1623725822824615936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 9, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>With Williams struggling to stay fully healthy and Horford needing his minutes limited to preserve him for the playoffs, the Celtics had been looking to pick up a center to come play behind these two guys for much of the season. Luke Kornet and Blake Griffin have been serviceable, but they finally got their guy in Muscala it appears.</p><p>Muscala has been having an OK season coming off the bench for the Thunder (6.2 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 0.9 APG, 43.8 FG%, 39.4 3P%) and will give the Celtics exactly what they need off the bench. For starters, he’s a big who can take over for Kornet behind Williams and Horford. And second, he can shoot the three ball, which is what the C’s needed. Muscala’s 39.4 three point percentage isn’t bad, but he was even better last season when he shot a career-high 42.9 percent from behind the arc.</p><p>For Boston, this was their biggest need, and they did a good job picking up a cheap big man who can give them precisely what they are looking for throughout the rest of the season. Oklahoma City doesn’t really need Muscala, and will pick up some draft assets and a young player with potential in Justin Jackson. Seems like a good piece of business on deadline day, and it will be interesting to see whether or not either of these teams make another deal or two before the deadline strikes.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA trade deadline: Celtics acquire Mike Muscala from Thunder

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '');   ga('set', 'title', 'OKC locks playoffs match-up vs. Rockets after Mike Muscala game-winner');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/OKC-Thunder-Rockets-Muscala.jpg"></figure><h1>OKC locks playoffs match-up vs. Rockets after Mike Muscala game-winner</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2020-08-12T20:18:09-07:00">August 12th, 8:18pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2020-08-12T20:22:23-07:00">August 12th, 8:22pm</time><address><a>Virgil Villanueva</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Thanks to Mike Muscala’s game-winner over the Miami Heat on Wednesday, the Oklahoma City Thunder have locked in the 4/5 first-round matchup against the Houston Rockets.</p><p>The Thunder and the Rockets met in the regular season thrice with the Thunder winning two games.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Mike Muscala's game-winner locks the Thunder into a 4/5 matchup with the Rockets and guarantees the Sixers get OKC's 2020 first round pick.</p><p>— Royce Young (@royceyoung) <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/royceyoung/status/1293738145180192772?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 13, 2020</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Catch Muscala’s <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPointsApp/status/1293738983956967424?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">game-winning three</a>. The Heat had a chance to snatch the game away with 5.2 seconds left. Unfortunately, they failed to capitalize.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Mike Muscala for the win!<a target="_blank" href="https://t.co/6FL5gRvQtE">pic.twitter.com/6FL5gRvQtE</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPointsApp/status/1293738983956967424?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 13, 2020</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The Thunder have exceeded all expectations from experts who did not believe they’ll qualify for the postseason this year. After all, they gave up Paul George and Russell Westbrook over the summer. In return, they received Chris Paul, whom analysts believe is on the tail end of his career.</p><p>Given that their roster was filled with young guns, analysts predicted that the Thunder will enter a rebuilding process that could last for a few seasons. But lo and behold, Paul proved to everyone <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-chris-paul-received-early-mvp-votes/">that there’s still a lot left in his tank</a>. He also took young guards Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dennis Schröder under his wing. Apart from Paul, head coach Billy Donovan, too, has been given tons of credit for his good work. He was able to maximize the pieces that he was given.</p><p>For basketball die-hards, expect the first-round duel between the Rockets and the Thunder to be a testy one. After all, Paul might have some hidden heat for James Harden and crew. Besides, Paul is one of the smartest players in the league. So it won’t be a surprise if he knows Mike D’Antoni’s playbook by heart and uses that knowledge to boot them out.</p><figure class="op-tracker"><iframe><script>  (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){  (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),  m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)  })(window,document,'script','https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga');  ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', 'auto');  ga('set', 'campaignSource', 'Facebook');  ga('set', 'campaignMedium', 'Instant Article');  ga('set', 'title', ia_document.title);  ga('send', 'pageview');</script><script type="text/javascript">      window._taboola = window._taboola || [];      _taboola.push({          article: 'auto',          ref_url: 'http://instantarticles.fb.com'      });      !function (e, f, u, i) {          if (!document.getElementById(i)) {              e.async = 1;              e.src = u;              e.id = i;              f.parentNode.insertBefore(e, f);          }      }(document.createElement('script'),          document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0],          'https://cdn.taboola.com/libtrc/clutchpoints-clutchpoints/trk.js',          'tb_loader_script');      if (window.performance) {          if (typeof window.performance.mark == 'function') {            window.performance.mark('tbl_ic');          }        }</script></iframe></figure></article>    </body></html>

OKC locks playoffs match-up vs. Rockets after Mike Muscala game-winner

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '');   ga('set', 'title', 'Mike Muscala reveals why he didn’t back out of agreement with Thunder after Paul George, Russell Westbrook trades');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure data-feedback="fb:likes"><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Mike_Muscala_reveals_why_he_didn_t_back_out_of_agreement_with_OKC_after_Paul_George_Russell_Westbrook_trades.jpg"><figcaption>CP</figcaption></figure><h1>Mike Muscala reveals why he didn’t back out of agreement with Thunder after Paul George, Russell Westbrook trades</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2019-09-09T16:38:31-07:00">September 9th, 4:38pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2019-09-09T16:38:57-07:00">September 9th, 4:38pm</time><address><a>Ashish Mathur</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/adnw_request?placement=1709097162682630_1935907953334882&amp;adtype=banner300x250" width="300" height="250"></iframe></figure></header><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/players/Mike-Muscala/9b6108d6">Mike Muscala</a> agreed to a deal with the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder">Oklahoma City Thunder</a> this summer before the franchise traded stars <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/players/Paul-George/b0b809e6">Paul George</a> and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/players/Russell-Westbrook/b3770983">Russell Westbrook</a>.</p><p>After the Thunder traded George and Westbrook, they told Muscala he could seek out another contract on the open market if he wanted to.</p><p>Muscala, though, decided to honor his agreement with OKC because he really liked the vibe he was getting from the Thunder.</p><blockquote>“I was intrigued then by a new situation. Obviously, at the beginning, the team and how it was structured was very intriguing. And that’s what I agreed to. But then even when that changed, I think because my feelings just were so good about the organization, it stuck with me,” Muscala told <a href="https://theathletic.com/1191234/2019/09/09/meet-mike-muscala-the-thunder-forward-talks-choosing-okc-and-settling-in-on-a-remade-roster/">Brett Dawson of The Athletic</a>.“And I just felt that even despite the change in the roster, the personnel, that it would still be a good opportunity for me and that there would still be a lot that I could learn. I’ve never played the game with the approach that ‘Oh, I just want to win a championship.’ It’s never been like that. For me, it’s been more about the people I meet and have met throughout my career who I stay in touch with. I think that’s what’s so cool about basketball.“Being on the Sixers and the Lakers last year with a couple of younger guys, I really enjoyed getting to know them more. I’m not saying I was a big mentor to them, but just kind of taking them under my wing a little bit and talking to them. Maybe going out to dinner here there and just kind of throwing some ideas at them and things that I had learned through my first couple of years. That was really valuable to me. It felt good. And I felt that on this team now, with a lot of younger players, there would be an opportunity to do that.”</blockquote><p>Mike Muscala put up 7.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 64 games with the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/philadelphia-76ers">Philadelphia 76ers</a> and Los Angeles Lakers last season. He shot 40.2 percent from the field, 34.8 percent from beyond the arc and 82.4 percent from the free-throw line.</p><p>The Thunder will have a difficult time making the playoffs next season in the rugged Western Conference, but are hoping veterans such as Muscala, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/players/Chris-Paul/a53c094a">Chris Paul</a>, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/players/Steven-Adams/ac7909ac">Steven Adams</a>, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/players/Danilo-Gallinari/ad6609ce">Danilo Gallinari</a>, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/players/Nerlens-Noel/a5c80922">Nerlens Noel</a> and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/players/Dennis-Schroder/a2f008e4">Dennis Schroder</a> can push the team to the postseason.</p><figure class="op-tracker"><iframe><script>  (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){  (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),  m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)  })(window,document,'script','https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga');  ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', 'auto');  ga('set', 'campaignSource', 'Facebook');  ga('set', 'campaignMedium', 'Instant Article');  ga('set', 'title', ia_document.title);  ga('send', 'pageview');</script><iframe>    <script type="text/javascript">        window._taboola = window._taboola || [];        _taboola.push({            article: 'auto',            ref_url: 'http://instantarticles.fb.com'        });        !function (e, f, u, i) {            if (!document.getElementById(i)) {                e.async = 1;                e.src = u;                e.id = i;                f.parentNode.insertBefore(e, f);            }        }(document.createElement('script'),            document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0],            'https://cdn.taboola.com/libtrc/clutchpoints-clutchpoints/trk.js',            'tb_loader_script');        if (window.performance) {          if (typeof window.performance.mark == 'function') {            window.performance.mark('tbl_ic');          }        }    </script>    </iframe></iframe></figure></article>    </body></html>

Mike Muscala reveals why he didn’t back out of agreement with Thunder after Paul George, Russell Westbrook trades

Rodions Kurucs

Zion Williamson

Aaron Gordon

Luguentz Dort

Terry Rozier

Kenrich Williams

Taj Gibson

Wayne Ellington

Mike Muscala

Eric Paschall

Atlanta Hawks

Los Angeles Lakers

Philadelphia 76ers

Oklahoma City Thunder

Boston Celtics

Washington Wizards

Detroit Pistons

1 season

Career

4 seasons

https://twitter.com/MikeMuscala/status/1411514673371877377/

https://twitter.com/MikeMuscala/status/1411508728382197760/

cam reddish lighting it up on the national stage 

https://twitter.com/MikeMuscala/status/1411489640050167811/

What is this legend of zelda ass music they playing at state farm arena

https://twitter.com/MikeMuscala/status/1410440315765358598/

https://twitter.com/MikeMuscala/status/1410439332268154885/

Demarcus cousins getting crucial playoff minutes Why

https://twitter.com/MikeMuscala/status/1408996428005875717/

https://twitter.com/MikeMuscala/status/1405396854859206657/

Gonna flunk my anatomy quiz tom but paul george put on a masterclass performance so i’m sleeping well regardless

https://twitter.com/MikeMuscala/status/1402499468897841159/

Didn’t watch the Jazz game but i’m not trying to see them in the finals for the love of god

2023-24 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
1.1	1.3	0.3	0.1	0.1

2023-24 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
1.1	1.3	0.3	0.1	0.1

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Mike Muscala reveals why he didn’t back out of agreement with Thunder after Paul George, Russell Westbrook trades

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