Three (More) Things I Noticed on League Pass: Rookies!
Hit the jump for a bonus edition of Three Things I Noticed on League Pass, starring Zaccharie Risacher, Kyshawn George, and Quinten Post.
Zaccharie Risacher, on the deck
The No. 1 overall pick is, for some reason, not getting a ton of attention. Maybe it's because the Hawks are the play-in-est team in the NBA, so a lot of people don't take them all that seriously. Maybe it's because he was considered an underwhelming top pick in the first place.
But in recent weeks, Risacher is playing quite well. Since the All-Star break, he's averaged 12.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in just 26.8 minutes a night. He's shooting 45.9% from the field and 45.5% from deep.
One thing I’ve been impressed with is his off-the-dribble creation.
He’s gone from making 39.9% of his shots off two or more dribbles to 44.5% since the break. In March, he’s been even better by connecting on 60% of those attempts. This is a really nice development! I’m not sure he’ll ever be a primary creator, but doing this type of stuff — beating closeouts, taking advantage of rotating defenders — should be in his bag.
Kyshawn George, leveraging length
I’m biased because George went to the greatest university known to man, but I had decently high hopes for him as a player. At Miami, he was an elite shooter that also showed a capability to play point guard at 6-foot-7. My pro comparison for him was basically a right-handed Joe Ingles, which I thought made sense because of that offensive skill set combined with his lack of athleticism.
George tested as a 24th percentile athlete in bSPARQ, with a list of athletic comparables that you would never, ever think would belong to a defensive playmaker.
And yet that’s exactly what he’s quickly become, because George knows how to leverage his incredible length to make up for some of his athletic disadvantages.
George still hasn’t been able to make shots — especially from two-point range, where the lack of athleticism really hurts — on a consistent basis, but this type of stuff is there every night now. He knows where to be and what to do and because of his size and length, he is racking up steals and blocks and deflections quite often.
Since entering the starting lineup on a permanent basis, he's picking up 1.1 steals and 1.2 blocks per game — numbers you wouldn't expect to see from a 24th percentile athlete. To me, this is an encouraging sign, and something that will keep him on the floor while the Wizards wait for his shot to come around.
Quinten Post, more than a shooter
For the second straight year, the Warriors got themselves a really nice player in the back half of the second round. Post has drawn attention early on for his knock-down shooting (41.7% from deep), but he’s shown that he’s got more in his bag than just that.
He can do some of the little things offensively, like get himself open in the paint and make a kickout for a hockey assist, or generate a switch for Jonathan Kuminga by rolling himself into Kuminga’s defender and clearing him out of the way.
And in more recent games, it’s been the defensive side of the floor where Post has shone some really encouraging development. He doesn’t move as well as you’d ideally like for big man, but he still finds a way to make some nice plays.
Do I think Post will ever be a true defensive anchor? Not really. You can take advantage of him in space sometimes, as the Kings did in the game on Thursday night. But he at least looks like a guy who won’t kill you on that end when he’s out there, and that’s important, because a big man who can’t defend won’t get on the court under Steve Kerr.
