Atlanta Hawks studs and duds from short-handed loss to the Magic

Atlanta Hawks dud from short-handed loss: Mays drew the start and then…

It could have been a special night for Skylar Mays, and in many ways it was. The second-year man out of LSU appeared in 33 games as a rookie last season, contributing to a Hawks team that was dealing with issues and inner turmoil. This, though, was his first time in the starting lineup in his NBA career.

The night ended with Mays scoring zero points, missing his lone attempt, and hauling in one rebound with one turnover.

He was a minus-11 and played just nine minutes.

Now, this spot could have easily gone to Gorgui Dieng. The big man also drew a start, manning the pivot in place of the injured Clint Capela. Dieng finished with eight points on 37.5 percent shooting and was a team-worst minus-23 in 22 minutes.

The 6-foot-11 vet also had five boards, an assist, and a block. But he was just 1-for-4 from beyond the arc.

Still, we know what Dieng is at this point in his career and that he is overextended as a starter.

Mays teased some potential last season, having 20 points and three assists against the San Antonio Spurs and a 16-point, seven-assist performance versus the Houston Rockets last season.

He had made seven other appearances this season off of the bench in mop-up duty, averaging 1.8 points on 66.7 percent shooting. In his seven appearances with the College Park Skyhawks, all starts, he’s averaging 17.3 points, 4.0 assists, and 4.1 boards while shooting 42.9 percent from the floor.

This isn’t the traditional ‘dud’ as we simply didn’t see enough of Mays to grade his play in this one. Oddly, that is what makes it the ‘dud’ in a game where there weren’t many shining performances for the Hawks