Rookie of the Year/All Rookie Team Race

[Jamaaliver]

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Zaccharie Risacher



Risacher has seen a consistent uptick in offensive responsibility as the year continues. He’s still quite inefficient on the entire season sample (49 percent true shooting, 27.6 percent on threes), but he’s progressing nicely as of late and has scored at least 10 points in 11 of his past 14 games, including six games with two-plus triples.

Even when shots don’t fall, his confidence with the ball doesn’t waver. Risacher has been most impressive on defense to this point, contributing to the Atlanta Hawks’ eighth-ranked defense over the last two weeks, per Cleaning the Glass. His agility and versatile perimeter defense are as strong as advertised, and he’s as cerebral as teenage wing defenders come.

Once his 3-point shot normalizes, he should continue to prove himself a useful rotation wing for a surging Hawks team. His scoring off the dribble will play a major part in determining his eventual ceiling, but Risacher is contributing early to winning, even if not at the level of most No. 1 picks.

[Jamaaliver]

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[Jamaaliver]

Still waiting for the day we finally move Zacc back to the bench in a more limited role...

Spoiler:

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[Jamaaliver]

A new contender for All Rookie teams has just arrived on the scene:

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[Jamaaliver]

2025 NBA Awards Predictions Through Christmas

Rookie of the Year: Zach Edey, Memphis Grizzlies



Just when it seemed like Jared McCain was running away with this award, a torn meniscus yanked him out of the race and created confusion at the top. There isn't an obvious choice without him, as the likes of Stephon Castle, Yves Missi, Jaylen Wells and Dalton Knecht all have arguments to make.

In the end, though, it still appears Zach Edey's argument will be the strongest—provided he stays healthy.

The No. 9 overall pick is logging major minutes for one of this season's best teams and making his presence felt during that floor time. The Grizzlies have fared a healthy 2.5 points better per 100 possessions with him than without.

He hasn't been overwhelmingly dominant, but in this rookie class, he doesn't need to. His 11 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game don't jump off the page, but they do make him a top-five freshman performer in every category. That's an impressive feat considering he's only 11th in the class in average minutes.

Unless his floor time takes off, Edey may never pull way ahead of the pack, but it's hard to find the freshman capable of getting in front of him. Castle just lost his starting gig, Missi's team is significantly worse, and Knecht's chances have come way down lately.

The Purdue product could see his toughest competition from Wells, his teammate, but Edey will fill up more stat lines and already has the far superior net differential.

Bleacher Report

[HMFFL]

Zacch for us has still not been unleashed. He's being developed nicely by our coaching staff. I expect him to have an excellent second half. 19 years old and he's has a ceiling that's very high.

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[HMFFL]

ROY Odds

Zach Edey +120
Yves Missi +400
Stephon Castle +375
Alexandre Sarr +1200
Zaccharie Risacher +2000

https://www.vegasinsider.com/nba/odds/rookie-of-the-year/

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[HMFFL]

Top 5 ROY Canadiates Season Highs

Zach Edey +120
Pts 25, Rebs 16

Yves Missi +400
Pts 23, Rebs 14

Stephon Castle +375
Pts 23

Alexandre Sarr +1200
Pts 20, Rebs 14

Zaccharie Risacher +2000
Pts 33, Rebs 9

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[Jamaaliver]

Zacch Risacher must not, under any circumstances, fall behind Alex Sarr in the ROTY voting,

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[HMFFL]

I walked past Zach Edey at the Phoenix Airport yesterday.
I hope he had one of the delta one seats like I had flying in.

Team Edey!

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[HMFFL]

Zacch Risacher must not, under any circumstances, fall behind Alex Sarr in the ROTY voting,

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He has, according to Vegas.

Well done by Starr. His three point shooting has been huge.

15 for 30 in his last thirty three point attempts.


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[tbhawksfan1]

Hawks are playing Ris right. Development over stats to pad awards. ROY goes to a deserving player, but especially to a player drafted into the right situation. Need big minutes and high usage to get those stats.

There are reasons the Hawks are playing well above Vegas expectations

[Jamaaliver]

There are reasons the Hawks are playing well above Vegas expectations

The play of Zacch Risacher is not one of those reasons.

Spoiler:

I preferred us to focus on role and player development early on -- so the many warts in Zacch's game could be fixed instead of highlighted to the world.

This has pretty much always been my preference.

I do believe that a limited role on a competitive team is preferable to a huge role on an outright bad team when developing young players.



It's worth noting that of the top-10 draftees, only 3 are actually starting for their teams consistently.
Of those 3 starters...Zaccharie Risacher has arguably played the worst.

[Jamaaliver]

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[Jamaaliver]

Tristan is already what we hope Zacc will be in 3 years...

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[Jamaaliver]

Spoiler:

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[Jamaaliver]

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[HMFFL]

Tristan is already what we hope Zacc will be in 3 years...

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I would expect the expectations for Zacch are greater.

Tristan Da Silva is averaging 25mpg, Zaach with 23.9mpg with a decrease as of late. Let me know when TDS beats 19 year old Zacch's points and rebound high.

I like what Coach is doing with Zacch right now but I expect him to give Zacch more freedom in the second half.



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[HMFFL]

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Memphis had a great draft.

Jaylen Wells has been fun to watch and he can knock the three down.

Zach Edey is an automatic double double machine once he receives a slight increase in minutes.

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[Jamaaliver]

Spoiler:

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