“ I don't know how he did it. » Zacharie Risacher sometimes has a hard time understanding how Trae Young does it. How, despite the pressure from the opposing defense, the Hawks leader manages to serve him.
“ I don't know how he did it. But it came and I wasn't ready because I told myself there was no chance the pass would happen. She came in and that's when he said to me, 'You just have to be ready.' “, says the Frenchman while talking about a sequence of play with his teammate.
In this story, in addition to the quality of passing and the vision of the playmaker, there is also the quality of the number one cuts from the last Draft. These incessant movements which allow him to find a way of access to the circle. At Bourg last season, most of his baskets came from assists.
In other words, the game without the ball was established for him from the very beginning. “ A good player must always be dangerous. Does this mean that if you don't receive the ball you are not a threat to the opposing team? It's just about reading the game, spotting the right spaces. It's reading how my teammates move and how the defense reacts », he explains.
Using Defensive Aggression on Trae Young
Take the baseline backdoor, cut in the middle of the racket… By recovering the ball near the circle, he can then rely on his athletic qualities to finish without difficulty. And thus compensate for his long-distance clumsiness (only 27% at 3-points, 39% general address).
“ I read what the defender is doing and make sure I go when I know it's over for him. At some point, if (the defender) advance, he is not able to come back on me », continues the Frenchman who is regularly forgotten by his direct defender, too focused on the ball carrier. Including the Hawks' main offensive threat, Trae Young.
“ Usually that means I'm wide open. The defense will therefore react and I will be able to make a pass or something else. The fact that Trae is so aggressive and he's targeted by the defense to open up that space for me, I just have to use him the best I can », he finishes.
| Zacharie Risacher | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2024-25 | ATL | 18 | 25 | 38.3 | 25.0 | 69.2 | 1.3 | 2.5 | 3.8 | 1.4 | 2.3 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 11.2 |
| Total | 18 | 25 | 38.3 | 25.0 | 69.2 | 1.3 | 2.5 | 3.8 | 1.4 | 2.3 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 11.2 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
