Despite Zaccharie Risacher breakout game, NBA rookie class having worst start in history
Yesterday at 04:15 PM
There was a lot of media attention paid last week to how historically bad the 2024 NBA rookie class has been, statistically speaking, through its first three games of the season. Well, luckily for Zaccharie Risacher, game number four on the schedule came around Wednesday night, and it offered an encouraging outlier in the lackluster rookie narrative.
Risacher scored 33 points on 11-18 shooting, and led the Hawks to a win against the Knicks. Those numbers finally moved the needle a little bit, and gave the league a rookie averaging more than 10 points a game.
But did Zaccharie Risacher’s breakout performance really change the outlook for the 2024 NBA rookie class? Not so much. Number two overall pick Alex Sarr is still just at 9.8 points per game. Number three lottery pick Reed Sheppard is at a paltry 3.4 points a game for the Rockets.
Only three other rookies besides Risacher have hit the double digits points per game average so far — Jaylen Wells, Zach Edey, and Carlton Carrington — although it’s not really all the youngsters fault.
The biggest roadblock to increased scoring averages has been rookies not getting much in the way of decent playing time. Not sure whose idea it was, but with the level of parity in the league, it feels as though one coach started it and then all the rest made a makeshift pact to hold off on playing their rookies as much as possible to start this season.
Hopefully, one positive we can take from Zaccharie Risacher’s big game is that maybe it will convince other coaches to cast a bit of a wider net on playing time for Risacher’s fellow rookies.
Atlanta Hawks coach Quin Snyder’s comments after the Knicks game regarding Risacher were pretty telling in that regard. “His progress isn't going to be linear,” Snyder admitted. “He's got to stay at it. We have confidence in him if he makes shots or he doesn't. Today, he was really good on the defensive glass as well.”
If Snyder doesn’t believe Zaccharie Risacher‘s progress is going to be linear, it makes sense that his rise in playing time might not follow a set pattern either. But you only get better by playing more, so for all the NBA teams off to lackluster starts this season, the question remains — when are you going to start showing your rookies some love?
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