The Atlanta Hawks (15-17) will have 11 players available for Monday’s game against the Chicago Bulls (20-10). This is according to head coach Nate McMillan following the announcement that Delon Wright has entered health and safety protocols. It’s the first of a brief home-and-home that will send the Hawks on a six-game road trip.
This also leaves the Hawks very thin at point guard with only second-year man Skylar Mays and G-League call-up Anthony ‘Cat’ Barber on hand to handle duties.
Barring surprise negative tests, they won’t get Trae Young back until Friday.
Atlanta Hawks guard Delon Wright’s absence will be felt beyond the stat sheet
Wright is coming off of his first 20-point outing of the season to go with four rebounds, three steals, and two assists against the New York Knicks. He shot 61.5 percent and was 4-of-5 on threes. The 6-foot-5, seventh-year veteran also recorded a block while committing just one personal foul and one turnover.
It was honestly one of the best performances from any Hawks bench player all season and we haven’t even discussed his defense.
He held Evan Fournier and Kemba Walker to 1-of-5 shooting for just two of their 25 combined points. His 14.7 defended field goal percentage tied Mays for the second-best mark on the team behind Lance Stephenson and Malcolm who both played less than six minutes.
In Wright’s stead, Mays will draw the second start of his career.
The sophomore guard has strung together a couple of nice outings including a 14-point, 11-board performance against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Stephenson also figures to do his fair share of handling the ball.
Still, none of them bring what Wright does. He just earned a ‘stud’ designation for his game against New York but has been mentioned often for doing the little things even if he hasn’t been as aggressive as he should be on offense.
A lot of those things, like making the extra pass, can take time to develop as they require some chemistry between teammates. McMillan pointed out that isn’t a luxury they have right now.
Young tweeted out that “Maybe COVID heard” him perhaps suggesting a return to action sooner than expected. Until it’s official, though, the Hawks will have to plan for a Mays and Barber-led squad from the point guard position. This is where they’ll need to lean on McMillan’s point guard past and feed their big man to try a steal a win.