Navigating the Mays: King backs guard's huge upside

Skylar Mays arrived in the NBL with big ambitions and the South East Melbourne Phoenix expecting big things. Five games in, coach Josh King says the best is still to come.

The 28-year-old has been a steady presence, scoring in double figures in four of his five games and averaging 14 points, 4.8 assists and 3.6 rebounds.

But on Sunday he played a season-low 19 minutes in the 113-96 win over the Illawarra Hawks, as Nathan Sobey took the reins with 24 points.

King put the minutes split down to riding the hot hand, and was adamant Mays remains central to the Phoenix's championship push.

"It's just kind of going with the flow and who's playing well and it's always going to be like that," King said.

"We're going to play the guys that are playing well at any particular time."

King conceded Mays is still finding his feet in the Phoenix system, but is confident there's another gear to come.

"It's a work in progress. I don't know if this is an Aussie saying, but meat on the bone," King said.

"There's a lot more meat on that bone with Skylar. He's a really good player.

"We play a unique style. I would say that's a lot different than especially for a guy that's coming from maybe a slower pace.

"He's super talented and he's more than capable of playing the way we want to play. And we'll continue to work with him so we can get the best out of him."

Mays brings serious pedigree. The LSU product joined the Phoenix on a one-year deal in July with more than 100 NBA games under his belt, across stints with the Atlanta Hawks, Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers. He most recently played in Europe with KK Budućnost in Montenegro, and before that in Turkey with Fenerbahçe S.K.

King's belief in Mays has never wavered. Before a ball was bounced, he tipped the guard as having "tremendous potential to be an MVP-type candidate".

Sobey said the onus is on the rest of the group to unlock Mays' talents.

"I've got to make the game a little bit easier for him," Sobey said.

"Right now, we kind of just giving him the ball and kind of expecting him to make plays and stuff as well.

"Got to get him in the rhythm of it as well, rather than him just focusing on getting me going as well."

While Mays continues to find his groove, fellow imports D'Shawn Schwartz and Yannis Morin are starting to hit their stride. Schwartz caught fire against the Hawks with 15 points on 3/7 from deep, while Morin was a force at the rim with eight points and four blocks.

King has no doubt about the group he's assembled.

"I've said it and I mean this, I think we've got a good roster. I believe in these guys," King said.

"It's not just Skylar Mays. There's all these different guys that are on our roster.

"There's a lot of new players that need to figure out how we're trying to play."

The Phoenix snapped a three-game losing streak in emphatic fashion, closing the first half on a 29-8 run and never looking back. Dash Daniels filled the stat sheet with 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists, while the hosts went 29/43 from the foul line.

With four home games in the next four weeks, the Phoenix (2-3) have the perfect window to build that chemistry, starting with Saturday night's Throwdown against Melbourne United.