Mac McClung Prepared To Bounce Back After All-Star Break

Fatigue from a busy All-Star break got the best of Mac McClung on Wednesday.

After being crowned the NBA’s Slam Dunk Champion, becoming the first member of the Philadelphia 76ers to win the event, Mac McClung was back in Delaware on Wednesday night ready to face the Motor City Cruise.

With more hype than usual surrounding the G League matchup in Wilmington, there were high expectations for McClung on Wednesday. Frequent attendees at the Chase Fieldhouse might’ve felt a different energy in the building considering the Blue Coats’ star shined on a national stage over the weekend. But for McClung, the game was business as usual. 

“It doesn't really change things,” McClung said after the game. “I’m super grateful. I mean, that's so cool that it's had that impact, and I really am appreciative. But you know, like, once I get on the court, I'm not like really thinking about fans or anything.”

McClung admitted he embraced the love and proved that over the weekend as he was receptive to the support in Utah throughout the remainder of All-Star weekend, but he was focused on trying to help his team get a win on Wednesday night. Unfortunately, last week’s events caught up with McClung.

“I struggled a ton tonight,” Mac admitted. “One of my worst performances in a while.”

In 19 regular season games with the Blue Coats this year, McClung has averaged 18 points and five assists while knocking down 56 percent of his field goals and hitting on 49 percent of his threes. In his first post-Dunk Contest showing, McClung had a tough outing in the scoring department.

Checking in for a little under 25 minutes, McClung made just two of his nine shot attempts. He was 1-4 from beyond the arc. Wrapping up the game with just seven points, McClung was one of three Blue Coats players that didn’t notch double-digit points against the Cruise.

After the game, Blue Coats head coach Coby Karl mentioned that he noticed McClung was fatigued when the team returned to practice on Tuesday. On Wednesday, he saw the same thing but understood McClung was in a tough spot compared to other players.

“The All-Star break is there for a reason, to refresh your body, refresh your mind, and step away from it,” Karl explained. “He kind of did the opposite. He put in a lot of work. He mentally stayed engaged to compete in the one game that he played in, and then obviously, just the emotions and the energy and this whole process that he's going through with, which was kind of coming out to the world. It's taxing, I think, mentally just as much as it is physically, but I think that all plays a part in it. I think you see that with all players. It's just really hard to come off of really emotional events and play with that same energy that he usually plays with.”

McClung played around his season average of 26 minutes per game on Wednesday. While he tried to overcome the exhaustion, it got the best of him after the break. While the young guard was down about the fact he couldn’t help put his team in a better position to win as they fell short 116-111, McClung is putting Wednesday’s struggles behind him and looking ahead.

“You know, that's life,” McClung finished. “I don't think I'm looking at it any different than I have in previous times. So, you know, it's all about the bounce-back and seeing, as a team, if we can come back and get a win on Friday.”

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.