Summer League Notebook: Hawks’ No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher is doing well, but Atlanta must be patient

LAS VEGAS — Zaccharie Risacher is one of those guys who makes the game look graceful. He is the very definition of a fluid athlete.

That didn’t always translate into success over a few Summer League games, but it’s easy to see why the Hawks selected him No. 1 and many scouts thought it was the right choice.

Sunday’s game against the Spurs is a good example. In his first game, the Hawks didn’t run anything for him and he floated for the first few minutes, mostly in the corner. Atlanta got the ball in his hands in the second quarter and he showed a fluid three-point shot, better handling than anyone thought before the draft (he knocked a guy down with a crossover and then missed the shot) and his passing and game sense were impressive for a 19-year-old.

He just couldn’t make a single shot Sunday. Risacher finished with 11 points on 4-of-12 shooting, including 1-of-7 from three-point range.

Hawks Summer League coach Ronald Nored focused more on Risacher’s defense.

“One of the things is ball recognition and pressure on the ball,” Nored said. “And those are two things we’ve been teaching throughout camp, the first two games and the first game were solid, tonight was even better.”

There’s a lot of work to do for Quin Snyder and the Hawks with Rizacher. He needs to get stronger, work on navigating screens and defense in general, and get his shot to start falling.

But looking at it, it’s easy to see how it could all turn out.

Here are some other thoughts from Day 3 of the NBA Summer League:

• It should also be noted that the Hawks used a 2-3 zone defense for stretches against San Antonio, and you never see zone in Summer League.

• Spurs first-round pick Stephon Castle, who stood out during his Las Vegas debut (and before that the California Classic) is out for the remainder of Summer League with a sprained wrist, the team announced. The Spurs are wise to be overly cautious with him here, Castle has already shown a lot and learned the lessons he’s going to take from Summer League.

• Hey Rockets, it’s time to send Cam Whitmore home. He’s too good to be here. He won Summer League MVP a year ago, and while you might have preferred him to play more games last season, he’s simply better than that level (25 points, eight rebounds Sunday). Stop him.

• The only reason Whitmore was here was to bond on the field with third-round pick Reed Sheppard, which appears to have happened.

Sheppard impressed again, but what stood out in his second outing was that his annoying defensive skills—ball-swatting carries, pass anticipation—transferred to Summer League. How well that works against NBA veterans remains to be seen, but there’s reason to believe he can make an impact in that regard.

Sheppard continued to score, finishing with 22 points and seven assists, even though he made just 1 of 5 three-pointers (the only success came when the Wizards decided to go under a screen on him). Sheppard’s shooting isn’t the problem with him, and he answers all the other questions

Ultimately, Sheppard turns heads.

• Dunk of the day…maybe the Dunk of the Summer League is this poster of the Cavaliers’ Zhaire Smith.

• Rob Dillingham looked better and more aggressive in his second outing of Summer League. After a rough first game (where he looked hesitant and a bit slow), he attacked and created more space in the second outing, but finished with 14 points on 5-of-14 shooting.

• Jordan Miller plays like a guy the Clippers should consider giving real minutes this season.

Miller scored 36 points in his first game and followed that up with a very different 21 on Sunday. Miller made six 3-pointers in his first game, often from the corner, but he attacked and got down low on Sunday. He made baskets and drew fouls.

“I mean, in the G (League) last year, like I said, I was just trying to figure it out, improve my game, and then I started playing with it,” Miller said of finding ways to draw fouls. “Really Norman Powell, big credit to him, I’ve had a lot of talks with him, he’s on the line a lot. So, you know, I just took that information and used it.”

Miller, a second-round pick in the 2023 draft out of Miami U, signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Clippers a year ago and spent most of the season in the G League but was brought into the big leagues for eight games. With Paul George and Kawhi Leonard starting on the wing (plus James Harden on the team), there weren’t many extra minutes on the wing to share. That might not be much different this season with Leonard, Derrick Jones Jr., Nicolas Batum, Amir Coffey and Norman Powell in the mix.

But Miller demands a closer look.

• Summer League is a benchmark for measuring young players’ development. A year ago, the Nets’ Noah Clowney looked like he was simply lost in Vegas. This year, his defense has been impressive — he shut down the Clippers’ Jordan Miller at the rim — and he’s scored 27 points on 11-of-18 shooting in two games, playing within his limits. That’s real progress, and he clearly did a good job last year.

• Milwaukee’s MarJon Beauchamp was one of the few players sent back to Summer League after two NBA seasons. In two games, Beauchamp scored 41 points on 13-of-34 shooting (38.2 percent), including 5-of-15 (33.3 percent) from three-point range. Draw your own conclusions.

• 18th pick Tristan De Silva scored 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting for Orlando on Sunday.