Just hours ahead from the trade deadline, Athletic’s Sham Charania announced Thursday that the Boston Celtics acquired Mike Muscala from the Oklahoma Thunder for Justin Jackson and two second-round picks.

With the top record in the eastern conference (39-16), it wasn’t expected for the C’s to make any major moves. However, this pickup does solve a few holes that were missing.

Front court scoring

We may be in the middle of the season right now, but it’s easy to forget the offseason addition of Danilo Gallinari. Before he was injured, Gallinari was picked up to add some much needed front court scoring that the C’s lacked in the NBA Finals last year. Muscala may not be a 20 points scorer, but the 6’11 big man can shoot 40% from deep. Something the C’s haven’t really had coming off the bench. Which brings me to the next point.

Bench depth

As Malcolm Brogdon is adding to his case of Sixth Man of the Year, the rest of the C’s bench as been depleted. Thanks to the in and out of the rotation in Robert Williams and Al Horford, the C’s need some added depth in the front court. Grant Williams and Blake Griffin are both power forwards that are undersized when defending centers around the league.

Muscala adds much needed depth to the bench. Luke Kornet has been a nice help, but Muscala adds a new dynamic to their bench. Whether he’ll actually play in the playoffs is something we’ll see. It’ll all depend on Williams and Horford.

Veteran presence

The 11th year NBA big man knows his role. He’s not a starter and doesn’t try to do too much. He’s coming from the Thunder where he’s played along young guys and let’s them shine. The C’s already have their established stars and role players. Muscala has the playoff experience the Celtics might need deep into the postseason.