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Law has long way to go before flying

Vesper

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Vesper Newbie

Vesper

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Law has long way to go before flying

By Jeff Schultz | Wednesday, November 7, 2007, 11:27 PM

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Jeff Schultz

The Hawks gained a measure of stability Wednesday night. After starting three different point guards in the first three games, coach Mike Woodson decided to come back for a second time with Acie Law IV. So much for seniority.

As for going against Jason Kidd and Steve Nash in consecutive games — well, you just hoped that the kid wouldn’t need to be peeled off the court by the end of the night, looking like the remains of Ed Gray.

“He’s definitely going to have to grow up quick for us to be a great basketball team,” the Hawks’ Joe Johnson said of Law. “We’ve got to play like veterans, and it’s hard for a rookie to do that.”

Four games and two starts in, Law looks like a rookie. No great surprise. But he is far closer to forecasting hope than disaster, and for this franchise, that counts for a lot.

The Hawks faced the Phoenix Almost-Suns at Philips Arena. They benefited from the absence of Amare Stoudemire (knee). They benefited from terrific outings by Marvin Williams, Josh Smith and Josh Childress. It didn’t matter that Joe Johnson struggled, nor that Law isn’t nearly ready to run an NBA offense. They beat the Suns 105-96. Law survived, and without a medic.

“Those guys are great,” he said.

And this: “I actually thought I did as pretty good job on Nash, and he still had 34 [points] and 11 [assists].”

Nash made seven three-pointers. Every Hawk took turns being humiliated, so don’t pin that on Law.

“He’s learning on the fly,” Woodson said. “He has a long way to go, but I feel comfortable having him out there, him being able to make plays not only for himself but for his teammates. Eventually we’re going to see a true point guard.”

That’s the idea, anyway.

There are growing pains with young teams, no matter the talent. There will be growing pains with the Hawks, especially, because at this time a year ago, their starting point guard was in College Station, Texas, preparing for a non-conference game against Prairie View A&M.

The Hawks’ black hole at position No. 1 has been debated ad nauseam. Law believes he can make people forget about Hawks draft decisions like passing on Chris Paul (almost). But he admits this is a different world. At Texas A&M, he was the team’s best player and leading scorer. Generally that enhances a player’s reputation. But because Law is a point guard, some wondered if he could he make players around him better at the NBA level.

Law’s development will be the difference between whether this team makes the playoffs or not. Without a competent point guard, a basketball team is like a nice house without running water or power. It looks nice, but it lacks functionality.

Law looked good in the opener against Dallas. But at Detroit, Woodson had him on the bench in crunch time, preferring Tyronn Lue. He’s concerned about Law developing bad habits, and then losing confidence. “I saw that happen with Childress and Josh Smith,” he said. “We just threw them out there and they weren’t ready to play. They hit the wall.”

Law has recognized his mistakes. At Detroit, he passed up feeding the ball to Johnson, believing he didn’t have a good angle to make the pass. Johnson thought otherwise and had an irritated look on his face when he walked to the bench for a timeout. Law took notice.

“I missed him,” he said. “Obviously, he thought he was open. I told him, ‘Man, I’m a rookie. I’m going to make mistakes. I’ll miss you a few times, but stick with me.’ “

Law’s first start came in New Jersey. After the game, Woodson looked at the box score and saw Law with zero assists and Kidd with 12. “I kind of slowed his progress a little bit in Detroit [by not playing him down the stretch],” Woodson said. “But I told him after the [New Jersey] game, ‘You can’t play 25, 26 minutes and not have an assist, and when your counterpart has 12.’ “

Law played another 24 minutes Wednesday. Total: One assist. So we’re not talking Magic yet.

“This is only gonna make me better,” he said. “It’s been tough. I’m making a lot of mistakes, but I’m getting better.”

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BusBoyIsBack Newbie

BusBoyIsBack

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Can there be a Hawks article written by the AJC that doesn't mention Chris Paul?

My goodness.

STFU already.

They act like Chris Paul took his team to the NBA Finals the last two years.

My goodness imagine if the media had tons of articles about Van Horn over McGrady or Damon Stoudemire over KG.

How the hell can you be so sure how a player's career is going to turn out so freaking soon????

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WraithSentinel Newbie

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Law is not getting any heat from me. I think he has done a fine job. Sure he still has a lot to learn. Last I remember he was a rookie. I don't expect Law to be ready to make a major impact till at least Jan. Let all remember Conley hasn't even played a minute in the league. It also took Deron nearly half the season with the Jazz before he finally got it. I remember seeing people(not here) were already doubting Deron his rookie year. Not only has become a top PG, but he has surpass Paul as a more complete PG.

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Sasquatch Newbie

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I agree law has a long way to go before he becomes a good nba POint guard he still makes some bad decisions but that is expected. The part I think is the worst is his defernse this guy defense on good point guards has been down right awful..

Huh?

Have to disagree with that. I have watched the Mavs and Piston game repeatedly. I have been impressed with his D. Billups, Prince, Hayes had zero luck posting this kid up. He even ripped Prince on one post up. Keep in mind teams are running numerous picks on us we are playing team D. When Law gets isolated he has done a fine job.

As for that garbage article, don't forget the press hates BK because of the way he talks to them. No matter what happens they want people to believe, " well if we had Paul we would be even better". Simply put, BK chose a big guy that could play over a little guy that could play. How many point guards have gotten the largest contracts the few last off seasons? They can put up whatever stats they want, but Tony parker and Billups are not Champions without their bigs. Keep in mind that the Pistons were not the PISTONS until we gave them Sheed.

As for Law, starting your 3rd nba game at point is bad enough. When that first start is against a hall of famer and then u get another HOF on a back to back I think he had a great strategy. Just don't lose the game. I certainly noticed a drop-off in his aggression. I am not worried.

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GoDawgs21 Newbie

GoDawgs21

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Do people realize there are two parts to an assist??

First the pass then the made shot. Does anyone remember the Detroit game and Law with to great passes to Chill under the basket all for a missed dunk and a foul on Detroit?

Assist are an indicator of facilitating but they aren't the only thing. Law has done a nice job of getting guys in position and keeping the flow going unlike T. Lue.

Also its easy to 25 assist when Peja hits 10 3's in the game. All from Paul. Did anyone watch that game??? It wasn't CP3 going nuts it was Peja. All Paul did was walk the ball up and pass to Peja, it wasn't even drive and kick. It was Paul at the top of the key, Peja running a baseline screen and popping out on the wing Paul throws a pass my grandmother could make and Peja burries another one. Not saying Paul isn't good or that 25 assist wasn't a feat, but 10 were all Peja just going nuts with Kobe all over him.

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coachx Newbie

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I love how after each Hawks win a columnist from the AJC puts a negative spin on things. What a paper.

I agree.

I am extremely happy with Law's first 4 games. The PG position is the hardest position to transition into at the NBA level.

To critic a rookie PG in after a HUGE victory in only his 4th game is a bit harsh.

Several foreign PGs who were elite at one level could never crack a starting line up in the NBA.

Several Hall of Fame NBA PGs never caught their groove until 3 or 4 years into their careers: Nash, Billups, Payton, Stockton, etc. Very few guys are NBA ready PGs the first 4 time they step on a NBA hardwood. Chris Paul, Jason Kidd, and Magic Johnson are the only PGs I have ever seen do this in my lifetime.

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Fanboy3000 Newbie

Fanboy3000

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I've been really pleased with Law so far. He plays with energy and hustle, and shows some really good D. I thought the quote from Law about playing well against Nash was pretty telling. Don't worry kid, that Nash guy makes a lot of good defenders look silly.

The low assist totals don't bother me right now either, because we really haven't used Law as a distribution man. He usually brings the ball up quickly then gets it into the hands of one of the vets. If we let him control the ball more, we'd probably see more assists - not that I'm suggesting we mess with what is working. In time though, I really think he'll turn into a solid player for us.

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Fanboy3000 Newbie

Fanboy3000

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C'mon ya'll. I know it's the AJC and all, but this wasn't really a negative article. Just an article about a rookie working through the growing pains

Quote:

[url=
http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/

Four games and two starts in, Law looks like a rookie. No great surprise. But he is far closer to forecasting hope than disaster, and for this franchise, that counts for a lot.

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atlien Newbie

atlien

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While Law has been pretty good thus far (he's playing better than his stats suggest, and has been more than adequate on D), he DOES have a long way to go (like almost any rookie).

But, at the same time, we are competing with and beating some of the best teams in the league with him not even close to fully developed as a pro.

What's this team gonna look like once he gets more experienced and comfortable??

Exactly. We're gonna be good with him.

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Nicholasp27 Newbie

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i'm just happy to have a healthy (ahem speedy) pg that can't get posted up by opposing pgs all day long (ahem lue/aj/slim)

his defense is good and will improve

his driving is very good, as is his shot; so his offense is fine

he's made some very nice kidd-esque passes that just didn't convert to buckets

he's also made many other normal passes that resulted in the recipient getting fouled, which doesn't count as an assist (why not?)

he'll only improve and he is more mature than 95% of rookies coming into this league, so i have no doubt that he will be a good reliable pg as soon as january

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bumpyphish1 Newbie

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C'mon ya'll. I know it's the AJC and all, but this wasn't really a negative article. Just an article about a rookie working through the growing pains

Quote:

[url=
http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/

Four games and two starts in, Law looks like a rookie. No great surprise. But he is far closer to forecasting hope than disaster, and for this franchise, that counts for a lot.

Dude, it's all about the title. Yhey could title it, "Law shows signs of flight" or whatever, but they choose to put a negative spin on it. THAT is the problem.
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Fanboy3000 Newbie

Fanboy3000

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Quote:

Quote:

C'mon ya'll. I know it's the AJC and all, but this wasn't really a negative article. Just an article about a rookie working through the growing pains

Quote:

[url=
http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/

Four games and two starts in, Law looks like a rookie. No great surprise. But he is far closer to forecasting hope than disaster, and for this franchise, that counts for a lot.

Dude, it's all about the title. Yhey could title it, "Law shows signs of flight" or whatever, but they choose to put a negative spin on it. THAT is the problem.

Fair enough.
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