Three Takeaways From Hawks' 88-94 Loss to Wizards in Summer League Opener

What are the biggest lessons learned about the young prospects in this game?

Jul 12, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher (10) competes against Washington Wizards guard Bub Carrington (17) during the first half at Thomas & Mack Center. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports / Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports

Even though it didn't end in a win, there are still plenty of takeaways from the Hawks' summer league opener against the Wizards.

It is worth noting that Summer League is always a different context to evaluate players in than what their NBA role will be. The biggest things that can be extrapolated from Summer League performances include play finishing, usage of defensive tools, shot selection and connective passing. Because many of these players are given increased reponsibilities that they likely will not have in the upcoming season, it is more important to see if they are capable of doing the little things well.

On that note, here are three takeways from assessing how well the Hawks were able to do the little things:

The defensive intensity, communication and rotation looked excellent until they didn't

For the better part of four quarters, the Hawks played pretty good defense on the Wizards. They held Washington to 38% from the field and 28% from three-point range in the first half. The Skyhawks' strong defensive system carried over to this lineup as they routinely closed out on shots, hustled back and put pressure on the ball. Keaton Wallace and Jarkel Joiner had especially nice games as on-ball defenders, but everyone seemed to have a pretty good sense of the scheme. However, they were not able to stop the Wizards in the clutch. The last four minutes of the game and the last five minutes of the second quarter were not great for the defense, but that is not a huge cause for concern considering it is the first game.

Zaccharie Risacher's playmaking may have been undersold

Although Nikola Djurisic's playmaking was more flashy and the whole team did a good job of keeping the ball moving, Risacher's passing caught my attention. He did not have a particular strong assist to turnover ratio during his time with JL Bourg, but there were multiple complex, accurate passes to find open shooters. The pass that stood out the most was his behind-the-back dish to Mo Gueye. Even though he didn't record assists on all of them due to missed shots, Risacher can clearly operate as a connective passer. When he and Djurisic were asked to be the lead initiators for the offense at the end of the second half, it was not perfect. However, he showed good court vision in this game. If this continues to be a theme in Summer League, he is going to be a very effective connective piece for the Hawks in 2024-25.

Keaton Wallace and Nikola Djurisic should be in the starting lineup.

For different reasons, I think the Hawks can extract a lot of benefit from giving Wallace and Djurisic heavy minutes. Wallace landed a two-way deal immediately after the game and I wrote about his performance after that deal was announced:

"Wallace was a defensive force for the Hawks tonight, slotting in perfectly as both an on and off-ball defender. Despite not starting the game, he was part of the closing lineup as the Hawks looked to steal the win in the fourth quarter. I was especially impressed by how he played on-ball, but he showed great awareness as a weak-side defender too. In his 23 minutes of action, he put up 10 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 stocks. He showed off a fairly reliable jumper, even if his shot didn't fall from three-point range (1 for 4). Wallace was the only player who played 20+ minutes and graded out with a positive plus-minus, indicating his contributions on both sides of the ball."

Now that he is a two-way player, it makes sense for them to give him increased minutes to see how his consistency on offense and defensive excellence holds up over extended periods of time. If those skills do persist, it seems pretty likely that he will get some minutes in the regular season for Atlanta.

Djurisic's argument for increased minutes is different because in his Summer League game, he showed off everything that scouts already knew. His playmaking ability is impressive, but he tends to also turn the ball over when trying to do too much. He went 2-6 from the field and 0-2 from three-point range - getting him offensive reps is going to be critical for his development. If he can learn to operate in a confined role on offense and convert some of his shots into points, he could be a bench wing for the Hawks towards the end of the regular season. He is going to need plenty of minutes to make that happen and it would be valuable to the Hawks to give him those minutes.