Mike Muscala: Better interior defense
Despite his recent cold spell, Mike Muscala has been one of the Sixers’ most valuable reserves in 2018. He’s filling the Ersan Ilyasova role quite well, hitting spot-up threes, grabbing rebounds and giving solid effort on defense.
For a Sixers team that lacks frontcourt depth, Muscala’s ability to spend time at power forward and center has been invaluable. He fits well enough next to Embiid, but can also man the backup five minutes. It’s a solid setup for the time being.
There are still moments on defense where Moose gets exposed, of course. He lacks core strength, which means bigger centers tend to bully him in the post. That’s when having another playable backup center — hello, 2017-18 Amir Johnson — comes in handy.