During the Atlanta Hawks' recent game against the Charlotte Hornets, fans and media alike noticed a glaring concern late in the fourth quarter. With a little under five minutes left in the game, the Hawks started to chip away at the Hornets' lead, eventually making it a one-point game with a little under three minutes to go.
Atlanta wasn't able to take control of the game after that, eventually ending in a 126-133 loss for the Hawks, but it wasn't the game itself that had the people concerned. Zaccharie Risacher, who the Hawks took with the #1 overall pick back in 2023, played a whopping zero closing minutes. This trend continued in the Hawks' 152-150 loss to the Chicago Bulls, the second game with clutch minutes since Young returned.
Dyson Daniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Vit Krejci held down Risacher's wing role in the closing minutes, and Risacher finished the game with only 5 points in 20 minutes. Risacher couldn't even secure a spot in the closing lineup despite an excellent two-way performance against the Bulls, where the Frenchman dropped 17 points on just 11 shot attempts.
Risacher could be getting phased out of the offense
Risacher has clearly shown that he's still adjusting to the pace and physicality of the NBA, and especially in late-game situations, he's been somewhat of a non-factor in this Hawks' offense.
For as volatile as the Atlanta Hawks have been this season, holding Risacher out of crunch time minutes may be more for risk management above anything else.
Given the type of season Atlanta has had up to this point, limiting mistakes in these late-game situations is key, something Zaccharie Risacher is prone to doing. Additionally, Vit Krejci and NAW have both brought heightened defensive awareness recently, another area Risacher is still developing.
Quin Snyder seems to be leaning towards his more trustworthy options down the stretch, but don't get it twisted: his potential is still as high as ever.
As a fan, you can't really blame Snyder for choosing trust over potential, but it could be a real concern down the line if this trend were to continue. Right now, Atlanta is battling for a top-8 seed in the East, so the Hawks have their reasons to keep being patient with their former #1 overall selection.
To fans, however, this move may come across as the front office being hesitant to develop their young forward. With the February 5th trade deadline rapidly approaching, the Hawks have been at the center of a lot of trade rumors, most notably Anthony Davis, who became the Dallas Mavericks' star center at the end of last year's deadline.
Zaccharie Risacher's name has been floated around as a piece in this potential trade for Anthony Davis, so Hawks fans should monitor Risacher and his minutes as they continue to march closer towards the deadline. If this trend were to continue into February, then there's a real chance that Atlanta has already cut their losses with the former French superstar.