Zaccharie Risacher's benching quietly unlocked his potential as the Hawks soar

Let’s not kid ourselves; Zaccharie Risacher was never expected to be a true star, one who mesmerizes fans with his ball handling and wills teams to victory with his one-on-one scoring. Rather, Risacher was drafted first overall with the hopes that he would be elite in his role – an All-Star role player, as I like to call them.

As the fifth starter alongside Dyson Daniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Jalen Johnson, and Onyeka Okongwu, Risacher was asked to play a role he simply isn’t equipped for. Risacher cannot provide the offensive juice the starting unit needed, and he struggled mightily in this more prominent role. When the Hawks demoted him to the bench in favor of CJ McCollum, I noted that the move could be the best thing for Risacher.

Indeed, this has been the best-case scenario for Risacher, but a quick glance at the stat sheet wouldn’t tell you this. His box score stats are relatively unchanged, but he has quadrupled his impact as a rebounder since the start of the season.

Risacher is in the All-Star role player boot camp

Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, and Alex Caruso are the three most accomplished All-Star role players in recent memory. While all three of them can score, none of them would be described as scorers. Instead, all three earn their paycheck by playing excellent defense, taking care of the ball, and rebounding at an elite rate for their position. If Risacher is going to reach his fullest potential, it will come from playing similar to this trio of supercharged supporting players.

By being taken out of the starting five and placed into the bench unit, Risacher got what he needed most: to play in his ideal role.

Rookies and young players often get thrust into a role they don’t quite deserve. The organization believed in the youngster enough to invest a high draft pick, so they’re willing to give their prospect the opportunity to justify their selection.

In the case of the Atlanta Hawks, Risacher was elevated into the starting lineup for De’Andre Hunter in just his third game. At this point in his young career, Risacher was simply not as good as the older, more experienced Hunter (although he has certainly surpassed his former teammate by now).

But 18 months later, the starting lineup is no longer the ideal developmental spot for Risacher. The Hawks are stacked with fellow All-Star role players, from the all-around impact of Alexander-Walker to the defensive, playmaking, and rebounding virtuoso Daniels. Risacher’s unique skill set is no longer unique on the Hawks’ starting five; in fact, the redundancy of Risacher, NAW, and Daniels caused problems on the offensive side of the ball.

Risacher has taken the first step toward becoming an All-Star role player

Risacher’s rebounding percentage has quadrupled over the course of the season, leaping from a dismal 3.1% in October to a remarkable 12.4%. While it is important to note that both October and March have small sample sizes, this trend is evident throughout the season.

Notably, his March leap has come entirely on the bench. This is precisely what Risacher can gain from riding the bench. Yes, it is humiliating to bench a former first overall pick, and yes, it sounds like I am coping with his struggles by justifying his demotion.

But Risacher, like all youngsters with an untapped potential, simply needs reps in his role – and his ideal role was not the role he assumed on the starting five. Look for the Hawks to continue to emphasize playing their former top pick the way he is supposed to play, rather than the way we Hawks fans might want him to play as a former top pick.