Dusty May put Zaccharie Risacher’s Friday into a small, useful sample: about five open-court situations, with a decision the Mavericks coach liked in each. The claim was an assessment of practice, but the thing May was watching deserves attention.
That detail came from the Mavericks’ sixth training-camp practice and the accompanying public media update. Risacher’s draft position has supplied plenty of expectations; these possessions offer a more concrete place to assess his progress. May was watching what happened when the floor opened and the possession demanded a choice.
Risacher had to recognize when to change pace, when to drive, when to kick the ball out and when to keep running. May also credited him with better lane-running, offensive rebounding and open-shot work. Those observations belong together.
A wing who varies his speed can make a defender retreat; the resulting gap may invite a drive, while the help defender’s arrival creates the pass. If the first advantage disappears, a continued cut or a pursuit of the offensive glass can keep the possession from going flat.
That is connective basketball, and it gives Dallas a practical case for Risacher’s value beyond the label attached to him in 2024. Atlanta selected him first overall that year before Dallas acquired him in a three-team transaction involving Oklahoma City on July 19. The draft history explains the attention. It says much less about how he will help the Mavericks possession by possession.
A useful wing does not need to dominate the ball to influence an offense. Risacher can make a possession easier by advancing it quickly, attacking a closeout with purpose or moving the ball before the defense finishes its rotation. The difference between those choices is often a fraction of a second.
In the open floor, that fraction can separate a clean advantage from a crowded drive and a hurried recovery by the defense.
May’s evaluation also sits inside a wider offensive experiment. Daniel Gafford said Friday that he is learning to slow his own processing while operating in a faster system, and May wants the center to provide more connector play alongside his established finishing around the basket. Risacher and Gafford are being asked to solve different problems, but both examples point toward an offense that values recognition.
The right response may be a pass, a cut or a second effort before it becomes a shot.
The numbers from Risacher’s Atlanta season add scale without answering the camp question. He put up 1.1 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game, alongside a 9.6-point scoring average, appearing in 67 contests and starting 46. That profile reflects a player whose offensive influence was still taking shape.
