The Atlanta Hawks have had a somewhat disappointing season, but coming out of the All-Star break there is still time to turn things around. The Hawks sit at 27-31 on the season ahead of Sunday's game against the Brooklyn Nets, and head coach Quin Snyder has made a surprising change to start it.
With the team needing a spark, Snyder selected 2024 No. 1 overall pick Zachary Rishachar over veteran guard C.J. McCollum. Rishacher showed promising signs as a rookie, but he has had a tough sophomore season as the pressure of being a former top pick began to mount.
McCollum started alongside Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels, Nickell Alexander-Walker and Onyeka Okongwu. Lauren L. of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. According to Williams, that five-man lineup came into Sunday's game with a +18.7 point differential, the best mark on the team.
In a similar vein, Snyder hinted at potentially making this change after Atlanta's 31-point loss to the Miami Heat on Friday night via Hawks beat writer Kevin Chouinard.
"This is our best lineup by far, from a plus-minus standpoint," Snyder said. "You could make the argument that we should start that lineup...how can we best utilize CJ?"
McCollum came to the Hawks in one of the most notable moves of the season when Atlanta sent star point guard Trae Young to the Washington Wizards. Some believed McCollum would be traded upon arriving in Atlanta, but he has been a quality contributor for the Hawks since the trade.
Before Sunday, McCollum had appeared in 18 games for the Hawks and was averaging 19 points a game even in 30 minutes of action per night. Now without Young on the team, Atlanta is in desperate need of the scoring punch provided by McCollum as they try to maintain their position in the play-in tournament.
On the other side of the coin, a move to the bench will hopefully take some pressure off Rishaer and allow him to start playing his best basketball like he was starting last season. If he can rediscover that form, Atlanta will be a scary team come the postseason.
