ATLANTA (AP) 鈥� For Zaccharie Risacher, it was the perfect start to an NBA career of such promise.
A wide-open look from outside the 3-point stripe.
.
But the French teenager quickly learned what a steep learning curve he faces in his rookie season with the Atlanta Hawks.
Risacher, the league's , missed his next six shots and finished the night with just seven points on 2-of-8 shooting.
Still, he was all smiles after the Hawks held on for in the season opener Wednesday.
鈥淚t was amazing,鈥� Risacher said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a dream come true. I really enjoyed it. I鈥檓 glad we won and on to the next one. I can鈥檛 wait to play another game in two days. That鈥檚 gonna be fun. Just try to keep winning, you know.鈥�
The slender, 19-year-old forward made his debut with 3:43 left in the first quarter, drawing a big cheer from the sellout crowd at State Farm Arena. While the Hawks are in a bit of a rebuilding mode, they're counting on Risacher to help take the franchise to heights it's rarely experienced in Atlanta.
鈥淚t was definitely a special moment," he said. 鈥淚'm super happy to be here and I can feel around me the joy and good vibes. I鈥檓 super grateful to be a part of this organization, this city.鈥�
The cheers grew even louder when Risacher knocked down a 3 with the first shot of his career.
鈥淭hat was like the perfect situation,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 was open on the transition pass and, yeah, it was amazing. The perfect, perfect way to get my first bucket.鈥�
From there, it was far from perfection.
Of his six misses, three were from beyond the arc. He turned the ball over when his foot nicked the sideline as he attempted to launch another shot from long range. His only other basket came with just under 10 minutes left in the game 鈥� a thunderous dunk off a bounce pass from Hawks star Trae Young.
鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 as efficient as I'm used to being, so that was a little bit disappointing to me,鈥� Risacher said. 鈥淏ut it's part of the game.鈥�
He knows it's going to take a while to get fully comfortable playing at such a higher level than he was accustomed to in France.
鈥淚鈥檓 only 19, so this is a big adjustment for me," Risacher said. 鈥淚'll be better and better and better.鈥�
The numbers may not have been much to crow about, but Hawks coach Quin Snyder was pleased with what he got out of his prized rookie in 19 minutes of playing time.
鈥淚 thought he did a really good job,鈥� Snyder said. 鈥淭he point of emphasis is you鈥檙e not going to make shots every night. How do you impact the game other ways, whether it鈥檚 a pass or a cut defensively?鈥�
Even though the shots weren't falling, Snyder was pleased that Risacher had the confidence to keep firing away.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 stop shooting,鈥� the coach said, 鈥渂ecause he鈥檚 a really good shooter.鈥�
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AP NBA:
Paul Newberry, The Associated Press
