Zaccharie Risacher continues to prove the doubters wrong.
The 20-year-old Atlanta forward will look to build off a career-high scoring performance when the Hawks visit the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday.
As the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft, Risacher faced plenty of skeptics, even while delivering solid results on both ends of the court early in his rookie season. Yet the Frenchman has taken his game to a new level over the past two months.
Risacher notched his first career double-double Feb. 20 versus the Orlando Magic. He scored 27 points on 11-of-13 shooting against the Memphis Grizzlies on March 3. He put up 36 points against the Milwaukee Bucks on March 30, then topped that performance Thursday with 38 points in a 133-109 rout of the Brooklyn Nets.
“It was great to see. We need him to keep it going,” Atlanta guard Trae Young said. “That’s the Rookie of the Year right there.”
For as good as Risacher has been, the Hawks still could use some improvement on the defensive end, as they have not won a game in which they’ve scored fewer than 120 points since Feb. 24. They held the Nets to 40 percent shooting from the field — although Brooklyn knocked down 22 3-pointers — and forced 19 turnovers in the Thursday contest.
“As you get into these (late-season) games,” Atlanta coach Quin Snyder said, “your margin just gets smaller and smaller. Breakdowns or mistakes that you can control (are critical).”
Atlanta (38-42) currently sits in eighth place in the Eastern Conference amid a crowded play-in field. The Orlando Magic (40-40) have clinched the No. 7 spot, but the Hawks also want to stay ahead of the ninth-place Chicago Bulls (37-43) and the 10th-place Miami Heat (36-44).
“We know what we have to do,” Young said. “We know the position we’re in. We just have to take care of business.”
Philadelphia (24-56) is going to miss the playoffs for the first time in eight years due to a mixture of injuries and inconsistent play. The 76ers had lost 12 games in a row before topping the Washington Wizards 122-103 on Wednesday.
The Sixers’ lengthy injury list for that matchup included Joel Embiid, Paul George, Tyrese Maxey and a variety of important role players.
“It was nice for them to get some results tonight. They played pretty good,” said Sixers coach Nick Nurse, whose team was led by Jeff Dowtin Jr.’s career-high 30 points and Lonnie Walker IV’s 24 points.
Nurse also made sure to highlight Quentin Grimes, who struggled with his shooting (4-for-17) but still dished out seven assists and grabbed 11 boards while scoring 17 points.
“I love the 11 rebounds,” Nurse said. “Again, you guys hear me harping on that all the time, that our guards — I want to see which one of those guys can get in and help us on the glass, and he’s certainly doing that.”
The Sixers have lost their first two meetings with the Hawks this season — both at Atlanta in March. Risacher scored 22 points in each of those contests.
