Atlanta Hawks reveal Zaccharie Risacher’s status for tonight’s game against the Lakers

The Hawks will face the Los Angeles Lakers tonight in their third game of the NBA Summer League, but they will be without their first overall pick in this year’s draft, Zaccharie Risacher. The Hawks said Risacher is out with a right quadriceps contusion. Dylan Windler, Kobe Bufkin and Nikola Durisic are also out for the Hawks.

The Lakers will be without first-round pick Dalton Knecht. It will be interesting to see the Hawks’ starting lineup tonight, without Risacher and Windler.

Without Nikola Durišić or Kobe Bufkin at point guard, I think Atlanta will play Keaton Wallace, who recently earned a two-way contract for his performance. Wallace had a very good first game against the Wizards last week, but struggled to shoot against San Antonio on Sunday. Wallace has been impressive defensively so far in Summer League and has been one of the Hawks’ best players

Mouhamed Gueye has had an up-and-down Summer League, but when he shines, he’s been truly impressive, especially on defense. Gueye has been inconsistent on offense and has committed fouls, but he’s still one of the best players on the court at times for the Hawks.

After struggling in Game 1, Rob Baker had his best performance against the Spurs. Baker had 13 points and six rebounds against San Antonio and should start at center tonight unless the Hawks make roster changes.

The Hawks’ big star on Sunday night was EJ Liddell, the forward recently acquired in the Dejounte Murray trade. Liddell scored 22 points and nearly single-handedly powered the Hawks to victory in the second half of Sunday’s game.

He performed so well that our own Rohan Raman said he was one of the Hawks who increased his value the most during Summer League:

“Liddell scored 22 points on 43 percent shooting and attempted a game-high 10 free throws and two 3-pointers. Liddell used all the power of his 6-foot-2, 260-pound frame to intimidate defenders. After recovering from an ACL injury that wiped out his freshman year, it appears Liddell is getting back to being the player he was at Ohio State.

Saddiq Bey gave the Hawks some playing time last year, and Liddell could certainly fill that role next season. Between Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, De’Andre Hunter, Vit Krejci, and Garrison Mathews, the Hawks actually have a pretty solid collection of talented wing players. However, the physicality that Liddell would bring isn’t easily replicable in a backup role. It also helps that he’s a credible three-point shooter. If he can continue to produce that against Los Angeles, he’ll be a very good candidate for a two-way deal. At the very least, it would make sense to give him a heavy workload in College Park as he continues to develop.

If Liddell continues to play well, he could be on track to earn a roster spot or a two-way contract.

Miles Norris and Jarkel Joiner are two other players to watch tonight for the Hawks. Joiner has wreaked havoc on defense in both games.