Well, guess we will find out in a few months whether Muscala is useful in the postseason or not. My guess is that he will be part of the rotation.
This exactly. So far, based on 3 games, Muscala has looked like he would be a useful playoff option. But there is a way to go before you can say that definitely. As of now, Grant Williams has proved he can be a useful playoff contributor. Muscala has not. We need to see how he does for the rest of the season. Then we will know whether he can be a playoff contributor or just a towel waver.
In fairness, Williams has also proved that he can be a useless playoff contributor. We just didn't have anybody behind him to take his minutes while he was spending more time figuring out how to trash talk Dray Green than he was performing on the court.
Not sure what you mean. I view Grant as a solid #8'ish player, someone who gets regular minutes on a playoff team, but towards the end of the list of those players. I think that is pretty well established. Last season, 7 playoff games with double figures, several more scoring 9 pts. Playoff career 43% from 3 in 46 games. Sure, he had some bad games too but he is very clearly established as a playoff rotation guy.
Last season's Finals:
Game 1: 0 points (-6)
Game 2: 6 points (-10)
Game 3: 10 points (+10)
Game 4: 3 points (-10)
Game 5: 3 points (-18)
Game 6: 3 points (-18)
Overall: 4.2 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.0 assists, -55
That's the series in which he bragged about spending extra time doing research to trash talk Green. If we had any depth at all, Grant would have -- and should have -- been benched.
And, it's not like the Finals was a total anomaly. He played well against Milwaukee in Games 2 and Game 7. In Games 3 through 6, he shot a collective 5-for-24, including 2-for-14 from 3PT.
Against Miami, in Games 3 through 6, he shot 5-for-21, with a slightly more respectable 4-for-13 from 3PT.
Grant has played minutes in the playoffs. I'm not sure if I'd consider them reliable minutes, though.