Traveling to Paycom Center, Mike Muscala has probably shown Mark Williams and Khaman Maluach the best spots to go to. At this point, any feeling of a homecoming has worn off between the two sides. The Oklahoma City Thunder and Phoenix Suns have grown quite familiar with each other.
The Thunder have a 1-0 series lead over the Suns after a 119-84 Game 1 win . The reigning NBA champions looked galaxies ahead of the eighth seed. The talent discrepancy was obvious from the jump.
Expect the Suns to play better the rest of the Round 1 series. But that might not be enough to pull off the David-esque upset. All things considered, the Thunder should make easy work of their first-round matchup for the third consecutive year.
That shouldn't take away what the Suns have done this season, though. After Kevin Durant 's stint ended as a universal failure, Phoenix shored in a new cast of characters. That started from the top as Jordan Ott was named the new head coach.
Fair to say Ott and his squad have blown any lottery expectations out of the water. They completely transformed the Suns. Devin Booker remains at the top, but the rest of the team has been filled out with solid role players who know their roles. Look no further than Dillon Brooks — who's had a career season as a 20-point scorer.
Elsewhere, Ott's decisions continue to pay off. One of those is forming his coaching staff. Hoping to add some NBA experience, he took a swing at Muscala — who retired after OKC's 2024 playoff run. Despite zero coaching experience, the addition has been a success.
"He had good years here. He's just helpful. I thought he was really important for our group. Especially when we traded for Mark and got Malauch basically on the same day on that draft night," Ott said. "To have a guy that's played the position. Not only did he play the position, but he played it real recently. He was a stretch big, kinda how the game was moving."
In the handful of times Muscala has visited OKC since he joined the Suns, he's had a routine — go say hi to a few familiar faces before working with the Suns' center room. How much an NBA assistant coach affects their team is virtually impossible for fans to materialize, but Ott's words say he's been a plus to their room.
"Didn't know he was fully into coaching until I called him in July and he just dove right in. He lives right by the practice facility, works hand-in-hand with our bigs," Ott said. "Just his experience overall as a player. His route into how he got into the league. Incredibly intelligent. He has that feel in the locker room, which you need in a coaching staff. He added a ton to our group."
Cool to see Muscala thrive in his first assistant coaching role. Even though he was a career journeyman, he enjoyed some of his best years on the Thunder. Before they matured into a juggernaut, he showed OKC the potential of a stretch big man playing alongside drive-heavy Shai Gilgeous-Alexander .
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: How Mike Muscala helped Suns reach Round 1 series against Thunder
