Zaccharie Risacher’s start in Dallas has only sharpened the questions that followed him out of Atlanta.
The Mavericks have wasted no time putting him on the floor. Risacher has started nearly every preseason game in Dallas, and through the team’s first two regular-season outings he has averaged 30 minutes per game.
The usage is there. The shot making, so far, is not.
In his first two games with the Mavs, Risacher has struggled to find anything close to the perimeter touch that made him such an attractive pre-draft name. On opening night against the Rockets, he missed all four of his three-point tries. He bounced back only slightly against the Pacers, knocking down one of four attempts from deep.
That has left his long-range work sitting at 12.5% through two games, but the problems have not been limited to the arc. Risacher has made five of 10 two-point attempts, a number that is hardly disastrous on its own, though it does echo a concern that was already hanging over his time in Atlanta.
That’s the frustrating part for Dallas. Risacher entered the 2024 NBA Draft with a reputation built around one obvious weapon: his shooting. His first overall selection may have been influenced by Alex Sarr’s famous refusal to work out for the Hawks, but he was still viewed by experts as a consensus top-four pick because of the idea that he could stretch defenses and force close-outs.
His track record with Atlanta was solid enough. Risacher shot 35.5 percent from three in his first season and 36.8 percent in his second, numbers that would look perfectly respectable for most young players.
But that’s not the bar he was carrying. His value was supposed to come from being a true standstill sniper.
Instead, that part of his game has yet to show up in Dallas. It is still early, and two games only tell you so much, but the opening sample has not helped his case. For now, the Hawks’ decision to move on from him looks a little easier to understand.
In Other News...
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What makes Wiggins worth watching now is the bigger question his opening stretch raises for the Hawks: if he keeps this up, how long before he moves from pleasant early surprise to real league-wide conversation? The production has been strong enough to put him on the radar for honors like Sixth Man of the Year and Most Improved Player, and Atlantas early success only adds to the intrigue around how much more he can give off the bench. [Read more 🡒]
Hawks Hot Start Has Atlanta Dreaming About A Real Deadline Splash
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Around the league, that naturally sends people hunting for the kinds of stars that could change a season in one move, even if nothing concrete is in place yet. The Hawks have already been floated in that broader conversation, which is enough to keep their situation interesting: a hot start, real roster tools to work with, and plenty of time for the idea of a deadline splash to gain steam before anything actually happens. [Read more 🡒]
Hawks Head Back To Houston With One Clear Concern Pre-Game
The Hawks head back to Houston with a familiar test in front of them, coming off a recent loss to the Rockets and trying to clean up the kind of offensive stretches that bothered head coach Quin Snyder after the last meeting. Atlanta already knows it will be shorthanded, with Mouhamed Gueye and Henri Veesaar ruled out because of injuries, while Houston enters with Steven Adams unavailable.
One name to watch on the Rockets side is Marcus Smart, who is listed as questionable as the rematch approaches. For Atlanta, the bigger immediate concern is less about the matchup details and more about whether the offense can look sharper on the road against a team that has already shown how uncomfortable this series can get. [Read more 🡒]