The Atlanta Hawks are on a five-game winning streak.
Their late-season turnaround has come as a result of many factors, with Head Coach Quin Snyder's bold rotation decisions seemingly holding the most importance. It takes guts to win in the NBA, and benching a talented second-year forward certainly holds that level of weight.
It was a calculated decision. Snyder sent Risacher to the bench in place of CJ McCollum, the veteran guard acquired by Atlanta in January's infamous Trae Young-Washington trade. The five-man lineup of McCollum-NAW-Daniels-Johnson-Okongwu has been one of the league's most effective since the deal.
Turning that group into the starting lineup made sense at the time, and with the amount of wins that've followed, it's becoming clear the correct decision was made. It wasn't pretty at first, but as time passes, Risacher appears to be getting more and more comfortable in his new role.
Before Wednesday night's in-conference showdown between the Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks, it was announced that forward Jonathan Kuminga would be out with inflammation in his left knee. Kuminga's quickly become a vital part of Atlanta's second unit. With him out, if the Hawks were going to collect their fifth-straight victory, they needed another backup forward to step up big-time.
Risacher saw an opportunity and made sure to take advantage.
His presence, no matter who he was sharing the floor with on Wednesday, was undeniable. From start to finish, Risacher was making life difficult for Milwaukee on both ends. Not only was his confidence rising due to his three-ball falling, but what he was doing on the defensive end helped the Hawks maintain a steady lead.
Putting it simply: he was locking up. Despite his offensive inconsistencies on the year, one thing he's always been able to fall back on are his defensive abilities. His lengthy frame helps, but it's the effort that sticks out.
He wants to help his team win in any way possible. That type of mentality from a 20-year-old in his second NBA season is rare, especially considering the league's already chalked his year up as a disappointment.
Wasn’t a pretty defensive quarter but I saw a lot of good stuff out there from Zaccharie Risacher.
— Zach Langley (@ZachLangleyNBA) March 5, 2026
There's no more valuable archetype in today's NBA than a lengthy wing who can defend at a high-level and score at will. The offense is a work-in-progress, no doubt, but the flashes are all there. Hawks fans have seen him dominate games on that end. A sophomore slump shouldn't cloud that memory.
The HaWWWWWks are rolling. If they want to continue stacking wins as the season comes to a close, they'll need Zaccharie Risacher to keep doing what he does best.