Atlanta Hawks: The Unheralded Return Of Shelvin Mack

By Adam McGee | Mar 22, 2015

Mar 9, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Shelvin Mack (8) shoots the ball against the Sacramento Kings in the fourth quarter at Philips Arena. The Hawks defeated the Kings 130-105. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /

The ebbs and flows of professional basketball, and sports in general, can be very peculiar. Just ask Shelvin Mack. As we approach the playoffs, Mack finds himself as a role player on a genuine title contender, but there can be little doubt that he has taken the long road around in getting there.

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At only 24, the Kentucky native is still exceptionally young, and has gone through a lot in his basketball playing career. Through it all, Mack has always seemed to be the underdog.

This was perhaps most notable during his college days, where he was part of the Butler team that went to back-to-back national championship games. Not only was he a part of it, but he was one of the leaders. In both of Butler’s national championship defeats, it was in fact Mack who led his team in scoring.

It was Gordon Hayward who got all of the limelight though, and upon entering the NBA, Mack had to settle with being the 34th pick of the draft, falling 25 places below his Butler teammate.

Still, he’d made the big time but his work was far from done.

In his rookie season with the Washington Wizards, Mack was a regular contributor off the bench, averaging little more than 12 minutes of play per game.

His sophomore season was a little different though. Mack went through the pains of being waived by the Wizards, only to be later re-signed on a 10-day deal. That would come to nothing more permanent, just like a brief spell with the Philadelphia 76ers would lead to no joy either.

In March of that season, Mack’s luck shifted though. The Atlanta Hawks took a chance on a 10-day deal, and I’m not sure either party could imagine where they’d find themselves two years later.

Mack has battled hard to keep his spot with the Hawks at times during that spell, fighting through training camps and changes of coaching staff to earn the three-year contract that he signed last summer. Known by Atlanta fans for his reliability and consistency, Mack has been a little quiet this season though.

Having started the season painfully slow, and shooting abysmally, Mack had to watch on as the juggernaut that is young Dennis Schröder jumped him in the point guard rotation.

In many ways, it wasn’t until an explosive game from Mack in a signature Hawks victory over the Cavaliers in Cleveland in mid-December that the combo guard started to look anything like himself. From that game on, Mack seemed like he was starting to build some momentum, before a January calf injury set him back again.

It was over a month before Mack found his way back to the court for the Hawks, but when he did he looked like his old self again.

Since returning from injury, Mack has been much more impactful than he had been earlier in the season. He’s now averaging 16 minutes per game (up 2.3 post-injury), 7.3 points (up 2.8) and shooting 47.6 percent from the field (an increase of 9.3 percent), and 39 percent from deep (up 8.4 percent).

That’s not to mention a stretch of three games last week in which he averaged double digits in each one, and averaged 14 points for the three games.

Last season against the Indiana Pacers, Mack showed an appetite for the big stage in the NBA Playoffs. Perhaps it brought him back to his days at Butler. Now, finding his form this late in the season, can only bode well for Shelvin Mack and Atlanta Hawks as they enter the post-season.

Next: Should Rest Be Atlanta's Priority Now?

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