The Atlanta Hawks are coming into the stretch run with everything in front of them. They can host a Play-In Tournament game for a trip to the playoffs if they win out, or at least maintain the status quo in the standings.
There even remains an outside chance that they can earn a top-6 seed.
And to think, they have done all of this while starting a rookie for all but two games (when healthy) this season in Zaccharie Risacher, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 NBA Draft.
The best part for the Hawks is that Risacher is delivering on his draft status, finding a tremendous offensive stride at the right time of the campaign. And if this is a sign of what is to come, the Hawks’ arrow is pointing up at an even higher incline than previously thought.
“If Zaccharie Risacher is a 40-percent three-point shooter, it could change everything for the Atlanta Hawks,” Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes wrote on March 30. “That's what the 2024 No. 1 overall pick has been since the All-Star break, and his emergence as a dangerous perimeter threat makes all of his other supporting skills—connective passing, cutting, defensive length, good feel on both ends—matter more.”
The Hawks do not control their first-round picks, an avenue for high-end talent, through 2028.
Hawks need Zaccharie Risacher to deliver on draft stock
Risacher stands as their last blue-chipper barring a trade or some dumb luck in the lottery.
“Though he came billed as having less than a star ceiling, the rangy wing's multifaceted game fits well with the Hawks' other core pieces: Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu,” Hughes wrote.
“If Risacher is truly a knockdown three-point shooter, Atlanta will be set up well to compete for playoff trips until it regains agency over its first-rounders.”
Risacher’s breakout actually began before the break.
Since January 30, Risacher has averaged 15.2 points and shot 42.9% from beyond the arc with 3.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists. He ranks third among rookies in scoring in that span, but has been more efficient and plays for a better team than both players ahead of him.
A No. 1 pick rarely receives plaudits for a late breakout. But Risacher is only now gaining recognition because his shot is falling.
He has displayed an advanced IQ and played high-level defense all season.
The Hawks have a vision that features Risacher and 2021 first-round pick (No. 20 overall) Jalen Johnson, who is out for the season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum. To think that this version of the Hawks is just the foundation is an encouraging prospect.
Add in a 26-year-old four-time All-Star in Trae Young and youngsters Dyson Daniels and Onyeka Okongwu, and the Hawks are a team showing a lot of fight now and boasting promise for later.