1+ hour, 18+ min ago (399+ words) Zaccharie Risacher has had a regrettable start to the season. Through his first 15 games of the season, Risacher averaged 11.3 points on 29.2% from deep and 44.2% from the field. Each of these is a regression from his rookie stats. When combined with the strange, unexplained minutes restriction levied on him, Risacher had very few positives to take away. In his past two games, however, Risacher has come alive. Despite getting trounced by the Wizards on Tuesday night, Risacher dropped 17 points on 4/9 from three and 2/3 from two in an overall smooth offensive performance. He also tallied two steals and three blocks against the Wizards, building upon his defensive improvement this season. In the following game against the Cavaliers, Risacher had 14 points on 2/3 from deep and a perfect 3/3 from two. This included the game-winning corner three, where Risacher was contested and off-balance after a…...

4+ hour, 37+ min ago (462+ words) The Atlanta Hawks have a star power forward making the leap right before their eyes as Jalen Johnson continues to dazzle and make his case for an All-Star nod. Their last "star" at power forward, John Collins, is floundering on his latest team -- a bittersweet reality for Hawks fans who both loved and hated the polarizing big man. Collins was a draft day find for the Hawks, a double-double machine who outplayed his draft slot and put up big numbers for the franchise. He also was often marginalized by Atlanta's coaches and asked to fill roles that didn't best fit his skillset. Early on he was the fan favorite who deserved more playing time; after he got paid, he was the ill-fitting piece that needed to be sent away. After years on the trade block, he was finally dealt, his…...

16+ hour, 15+ min ago (317+ words) Zaccharie Risacher was absolutely cold-blooded against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night. In addition to playing a very defensively sound 4th quarter that helped to stifle any hopes of a Cavalier comeback, Risacher drilled a corner three with a minute to go in regulation that broke the neck-and-neck battle, putting the Hawks up 126-123, ultimately securing the victory for Atlanta. Risacher had a big grin on his face as the Hawks walked off the court minutes later with victory in hand, proud to be a critical piece in a beautiful win against what were once thought to be the defenders of the Eastern Conference top dog status. This game serves as a complete 180 to what Quin Snyder has done throughout the year. Risacher's 4th-quarter minutes have been severely limited to begin the year, averaging just 4.5 fourth-quarter minutes per game prior to the…...

18+ hour, 13+ min ago (391+ words) Quin Snyder has made it abundantly clear that he won't play Kristaps Porzingis and Mouhamed Gueye together. We're nearly a quarter of the way into the regular season, and the big duo has only shared the hardwood for a combined 19 minutes of play. Of course, it is incredibly unorthodox to play a double big duo, especially when Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu also exist on the same roster. The bad news about this coaching decision is that we have no tangible evidence to learn how effective Gueye and Porzingis are together. The good news is that their staggered minutes have now reached a large enough sample size to extrapolate a few meaningful trends from. Kristaps Porzingis has played 275 minutes without Mo Gueye this year, and Mo Gueye has played 263 minutes without Kristaps Porzingis - a nearly even split. Having split the…...

19+ hour, 33+ min ago (242+ words) The Atlanta Hawks have been remarkably successful this season without Trae Young (relative to expectations). On the surface, it makes no sense that the team is sixth in the East despite not having its best player. What the Hawks (and everybody else) didn't understand was that they were trying to win with a losing hand. Teams don't win with a guy as ball-dominant as Young at the helm. This lead guard interferes with his teammates' potential output and is bound to have a few off games, which is enough to lose a playoff series." The world also misunderstood what the ideal Trae Young looks like. Young can score 30 points a night, and he can be the guy who leads the team in field goal attempts on a daily basis. But should he? So, what do we make of these numbers?...

1+ day, 23+ hour ago (311+ words) Jalen Johnson's All-NBA campaign and the emergence of players such as Onyeka Okongwu, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Vit Krejci have given the Atlanta Hawks a good problem. If you remove Trae Young and Kristaps Porzingis from the picture, there is an exciting young core and a potential major addition from the New Orleans 2026 first round draft pick. Consequently, many fans are wondering if the best path forward for the franchise is to go all-in on the Jalen Johnson era by trading Young and Porzingis. The Oklahoma City Thunder traded Russell Westbrook and Paul George before their respective declines, and five years later, they were the best team in basketball. Why can't the Hawks do the same?" The problem with this path forward is that it just isn't realistic. Atlanta has proven that the Johnson-led team is around a Play-In level, meaning…...

2+ day, 1+ hour ago (379+ words) Few players in the history of the NBA have ever managed to make isolation scoring look pretty. The creme de la creme of all iso engines is, of course, James Harden, but players like Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Tracy McGrady, and even Trae Young come to mind as players capable of producing respectable looks all by themselves. Unfortunately for the Hawks, they lack that iso scorer this year with Young out. No single player, even breakout MVP candidate Jalen Johnson, is clearly capable of being a heliocentric engine. As a result, Coach Snyder has been clear that his strategy is to shy away from iso ball. Ranking 2nd to last in the entire league in isolation frequency (3.8%) and 3rd to last in isolation points per possession (0.71), the Hawks have played to their strengths " or rather, played away from their weaknesses. The idea…...

2+ day, 14+ hour ago (385+ words) The current Oklahoma City Thunder might just be the best NBA team in the history of the league. Yes, better than Jordan's Bulls. Yes, better than Duncan's Spurs. And yes, even better than the 2017 Warriors juggernaut of a squad. They're really just that good. The Thunder currently hold a +16.9 points differential over their 17-1 record to start the year, only losing one game by two points to the Portland Trail Blazers. That's over 6 points better than the 2017 Warriors. The scariest part? OKC is doing it all without their second best player. Jalen Williams has yet to play a single game for the dominant squad, which is relying on SGA, Chet, and a multitude of talented scorers off the bench instead. Given the fact that Oklahoma City is not only currently making other contenders look silly, but also given that they're doing…...

3+ day, 1+ hour ago (589+ words) Dyson Daniels experienced a real breakout last season, quickly becoming a vital part of Atlanta's starting lineup. His ability to handle the ball and facilitate while being one of the best defensive players in the world has aided in giving the Hawks a new, respectable identity. The start to his second season in Atlanta, however, has been less than ideal. This does not mean he has been bad, though. His defensive abilities are still among the best in the league and he has given the Hawks some much-needed playmaking during the prolonged absence of Trae Young. The aspect of his game that has been most disappointing this year has been his ability to put the ball in the basket. As a scorer, it appears that Daniels has taken a bit of a step back. This has handicapped Atlanta in late-game…...

3+ day, 3+ hour ago (302+ words) This summer, Atlanta acquired the most valuable first round pick in the last twenty years. Well, let's walk that back a step - Atlanta acquired the most statistically "valuable pick in the last twenty years - the Spurs weren't guaranteed to get the #1 odds in the 2023 NBA Draft, after all; the ping-pong balls just happened to fall in their favor. With the New Orleans Pelicans starting a woeful 2-15, their trajectory appears to be headed straight for creme de la creme 2026 pick odds. All of the chaos in Louisiana aside, the Hawks' likelihood at the 1st overall pick are getting better and better every day, thanks to another team quite a few miles north of New Orleans. Remember when New Orleans traded Atlanta their 2026 pick? It isn't just their own - it's the more favorable" of theirs and Milwaukee's, in what Bleacher Report described as…...