Liberty Ballers is asking for the community’s help in ranking the Sixers’ full roster (12 active players, 3 inactive players, 2 two-way players) according to on-court value for the upcoming season. When casting a vote, you should concern yourself only with each player’s ability to contribute to winning this season. You can find the original post here, which includes the Sixers’ projected final roster.
The voting for the #9 spot has concluded, with the community settling on Mike Muscala. Muscala being around the #9 spot makes sense, but TJ McConnell being ahead of both Amir Johnson and Mike Muscala doesn’t. With TJ now advancing to the top 8, that means the community expects Ben Simmons, Markelle Fultz and TJ McConnell to all be within the top eight most valuable players on the team. All of three of those players are most comfortable as point guards, all of them prefer the ball in their hands, and as of now, none of them can shoot.
Mike Muscala
I’ve been spending too much of my time over the summer watching Hawks’ film and trying to figure out exactly who Mike Muscala is and what he does on the basketball court. I haven’t yet arrived at a concrete answer. Brett Brown has decided he’s a stretch four if we’re going off of the preseason, and it seems that Brown envisions Muscala as an Ersan Ilyasova & Nemanja Bjelica replacement.
Ilyasova and Muscala are somewhat similar, but they have their differences to be sure. For one, Muscala doesn’t move off-ball like Ilyasova. I mean, Muscala has legs and they work. And it’s not like Ilyasova was running marathons off-ball. But Ilyasova is so aware and often finds open space, while from what I gather, Muscala is more of a plotter. The good news, and another difference, is that Muscala has a pretty quick release for a big, which should help compensate for his lack of movement. Muscala is likely a more efficient shooter than Ilyasova:
Mike Muscala vs. Ersan Ilyasova shooting
Player | Career FG% | Career 3PT% | Career FT% | Career eFG% | 17-'18 FG% | 17-'18 3PT% | 17-'18 FT% | 17-'18 eFG% |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Career FG% | Career 3PT% | Career FT% | Career eFG% | 17-'18 FG% | 17-'18 3PT% | 17-'18 FT% | 17-'18 eFG% |
Mike Muscala | 49.1% | 37.8% | 84.8% | 55.4% | 45.8% | 37.1% | 91.9% | 55.8% |
Ersan Ilyasova | 44.3% | 36.6% | 77.0% | 50.3% | 45.2% | 36.0% | 77.8% | 52.6% |
But the main discrepancy between the two players comes on the defensive end. Muscala’s mold is that of a traditional center, and so putting him at the four could generate mismatches in favor of teams that employ more athletic forwards. This is where Brett Brown could get creative. In a five-out-like lineup of Ben Simmons, Mike Muscala, JJ Redick, Robert Covington and Wilson Chandler/Dario Saric, Muscala could stretch the floor offensively while Brown sticks him close to the rim on the opposite end. Even then, Muscala is an uninspiring rim protector, and last season he allowed a defensive field goal percentage of 60% within 6 feet of the rim.
Muscala is poised to be a factor on the Sixers. I’m just unsure of how he’ll be utilized in a way that mitigates his weaknesses. Luckily for me, that’s on Brett Brown to figure out. I’m sure we’ll see plenty of screens from Muscala, and a relatively frequent amount of pick-and-pops. Placing him around #9, for an end of the rotation big, seems about right. (I anticipate fans feeling pretty ambivalent about Muscala.)
Sixers Community Rankings
Rank | Player | Vote percentage | Runner-up | Runner up vote % | 3rd | 3rd vote % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Player | Vote percentage | Runner-up | Runner up vote % | 3rd | 3rd vote % |
17 | Demetrius Jackson | 41% | Jerryd Bayless | 29% | Furkan Korkmaz | 10% |
16 | Jerryd Bayless | 29% | Demetrius Jackon (leading vote getter) | 32% | Shake Milton | 22% |
15 | Shake Milton | 81% | Jonah Bolden | 8% | Zhaire Smith | 4% |
14 | Jonah Bolden | 69% | Zhaire Smith | 17% | Furkan Korkmaz | 12% |
13 | Zhaire Smith | 39% | Furkan Korkmaz | 37% | Amir Johnson | 8% |
12 | Furkan Korkmaz | 64% | Amir Johnson | 11% | Landry Shamet | 11% |
11 | Landry Shamet | 30% | Amir Johnson | 26% | Mike Muscala | 21% |
10 | Amir Johnson | 43% | Mike Muscala | 35% | TJ McConnell | 17% |
9 | Mike Muscala | 55% | TJ McConnell | 26% | Wilson Chandler | 15% |
8 | TJ McConnell | 53% | Wilson Chandler | 37% | Markelle Fultz | 11% |
7 | TBD | TBD | ||||
6 | TBD | TBD | ||||
5 | TBD | TBD | ||||
4 | TBD | TBD | ||||
3 | TBD | TBD | ||||
2 | TBD | TBD | ||||
1 | TBD | TBD |
Vote for #8:
Poll
Who will be the Sixers’ 8th most valuable player?
This poll is closed
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52%
TJ McConnell
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10%
Markelle Fultz
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36%
Wilson Chandler