Zaccharie Risacher, like every other member of this rookie class, was off to a slow start. The No. 1 pick owned it, telling The Athletic’s John Hollinger, “Back in France I was super athletic, and now I’m just a regular guy.”
He looked more than a regular guy against the Knicks on Wednesday, dropping 33 points on them on 11-of-18 shooting.
The last rookie to put up 33+ points, 7+ rebounds, 3+ assists, 2+ blocks and 3+ steals in a game was Chris Webber back in 1994. That was by far the best game of young Risacher’s career (the the most he previously had was 17 against the Wizards in a game in which he shot 7-of-15.
What was most important from this was the 11-of-18 shooting – it’s the first game this season that he shot better than 50% from the floor. He’s starting to find his footing, which isn’t always easy to do next to the ball-dominant Trae Young. It will be a process with Risacher, but this is a good step.
Plus, the Hawks got the 121-116 win, and afterward, Young had some words for the Knicks fans in the building (of which there were more than a few).
