Do you see the potential?

[NineOhTheRino]

You Da truff my son!

[tonegully]

He got the crowd excited and on their feet. Play this man!!

[Wretch]

Here's my thing... First of all, I like Acie Law. His ability to get into the lane was the first thing that I noticed about him and I think he has great potential. He's also got the right attitude. He's got fire and he's one of those guys that you can just picture tirelessly working on their game. Who knows how good he'll be (does anyone at all truly know who will be the superstars before they break out?)...but one thing is certain.

If you don't play the guy or give him room to grow or a chance to fail, then you really don't know what you have. Until you trade it away prematurely.

Which is why I shake my head at all these threads that say:

"Acie was the xth best guard in that draft..."

"I would trade Acie, Mo, and Marvin for a solid big like (insert average big role player)..."

I'm not against trading players and I don't know if Acie will be the 2nd coming of Jerry West. Though, I would hesitate to trade a young player like him that is clearly being held down by limited minutes in a limited offense that a coach like Woodson uses.

Edited March 10, 2009 by Wretch

[Diesel]

Acie was pretty exciting. His drive with the no look to Smoove in the 4th was Stand up good!!!

The problem is that it's his defense that will keep him on the floor.

[DrReality]

I agree and it is not just with him individually but with the team collectively. We can only hope that they get it together at the right time for the playoffs and play up to their potential.

[tgunzz]

I lived in Boston when Patino drafted Chauncey Billups, the some of the same things that are being said about Acie were being said about Chauncey. That being, he should be playing at a higher level based on where he was drafted and how much potential he displayed in college. They were saying that he couldn't run a team as a PG, he was a 2 guard in a PG body, wasn't aggresive enough... blah, blah, blah. The only difference is that Chauncey had more PT. Patino still gave up on him. Look at him now, top 5 PGs in the league.

I think that Acie as the skill set to be a very good PG in this league, he needs not only more PT but, training on how to run a team. I think he also needs to be told by Woody to "just go and run the team, don't defer." I think seeing Bibby for a year now has helped but, I think Mark Price needs to be elevated to assistant coach in charge of PGs to help him. A coach to spend time with him on running a team and more seasoning (ie PT), is all that Acie need right now. Its, definetly not time to give up on him.

[AHF]

Acie Law

Rookie PER 7.7

Sophmore PER 11.1

Chauncey Billups

Rookie PER 13.6

Sophmore PER 15.1

[Supporter]

Acie Law

Rookie PER 7.7

Sophmore PER 11.1

Chauncey Billups

Rookie PER 13.6

Sophmore PER 15.1

You need minutes to produce in the NBA, Chauncey actually had minutes, I'm willing to bet that he got atleast 25-20 minutes a game compared to Acie's 10 or 15.

[Guest]

You need minutes to produce in the NBA, Chauncey actually had minutes, I'm willing to bet that he got atleast 25-20 minutes a game compared to Acie's 10 or 15.

PER is minutes adjusted.

And BTW, PER still is awful and I find it to be one of the worst metrics that tries to quantify total impact. I am not defending PER at all.

[Guest]

I lived in Boston when Patino drafted Chauncey Billups, the some of the same things that are being said about Acie were being said about Chauncey. That being, he should be playing at a higher level based on where he was drafted and how much potential he displayed in college. They were saying that he couldn't run a team as a PG, he was a 2 guard in a PG body, wasn't aggresive enough... blah, blah, blah. The only difference is that Chauncey had more PT. Patino still gave up on him.

I wouldn't say trading Billups for Kenny Anderson is giving up. Its just another example of Boston mismanagement of talent. We saw the same thing with Joe out there.

[Supporter]

PER is minutes adjusted.

And BTW, PER still is awful and I find it to be one of the worst metrics that tries to quantify total impact. I am not defending PER at all.

I'm not talking about the statistical benefits of having extra minutes. You need minutes to even have a feel for the game, Law probably doesn't even have 1000 minutes under his belt. Teams want guys with experience, Acie Law has yet to have that, and that's all a blow against woody.

[mrhonline]

Comparing Acie to Billups is simply unfair and lazy. It's about as trite as comparing a backup PF to Jermaine O'Neal. Guys like Billups and O'Neal are the exceptions that prove the rule.

Acie isn't a terrible player. That's not the main problem. The problem is that he's not what most teams (the Hawks included) want in a backup PG. He doesn't defend well, he's not a great distributor, and he's not a good perimeter shooter.

I think it's a virtual certainty that he'd improve with playing time, but the Hawks aren't good or bad enough to merit him getting a whole lot more playing time.

[Supporter]

Comparing Acie to Billups is simply unfair and lazy. It's about as trite as comparing a backup PF to Jermaine O'Neal. Guys like Billups and O'Neal are the exceptions that prove the rule.

Acie isn't a terrible player. That's not the main problem. The problem is that he's not what most teams (the Hawks included) want in a backup PG. He doesn't defend well, he's not a great distributor, and he's not a good perimeter shooter.

I think it's a virtual certainty that he'd improve with playing time, but the Hawks aren't good or bad enough to merit him getting a whole lot more playing time.

I think that acie proved yesterday that if he wants too, he could defend the best. He also hit his last threes as well as distributing around the hoop. He has all the tools, its just that woodson doesnt want to play him because his style of game doesn't fit in well with woodson's "system"

[Joker]

Acie is really a good player. I just don't think he fits into Woody mold of a PG. Nothing bad about his game, this is real life. The best players don't always play on the court. Sometimes it's about "the fit".

Edited March 11, 2009 by nbasuperstar40

[NineOhTheRino]

Acie is really a good player. I just don't think he fits into Woody mold of a PG. Nothing bad about his game, this is real life. The best players don't always play on the court. Sometimes it's about "the fit".

So Woody likes old, slow, lazy, 3pt-shooting and no-defense-playing PGs only.

[buckeye242424]

So Woody likes old, slow, lazy, 3pt-shooting and no-defense-playing PGs only.

Pretty much. Look at the Hawks' PG's during his tenure. Bibby, Claxton, Lue, AJ, Delk, Ivey? Ivey played solid D but he couldn't throw it in the ocean.

[jerrywest]

After watching the way Acie blew by Chris Paul twice before passing to Josh, Sund should make sure Woody gives Acie some room to make mistakes and learn.

[buckeye242424]

After watching the way Acie blew by Chris Paul twice before passing to Josh, Sund should make sure Woody gives Acie some room to make mistakes and learn.

I think Acie was a spark for us, and he played well. I wouldn't say he blew by anyone though, especially CP3. The shovel pass to Horford on the break was a 3-1 after Horf blocked a shot. He didn't have to maneuver around anyone. I haven't seen the quickness and explosive bursts Acie supposedly has. I want to see it in the half court, or when they don't have numbers on the break. When Acie has the opportunity to run, he chooses not to. Not yet at least. He still looks like he's playing on egg shells because he doesn't want to make a mistake for fear of being yanked or disappointing Woody. More playing time would remedy this...which is up to Woody.

[jerrywest]

I wouldn't say he blew by anyone though, especially CP3.

Did you see the game? This was even in the highlight. In halfcourt setting, Ace faked left and did a cross over and blew by Paul, and Paul swiped with his right hand from behind. Couple of guys collapsed on Acie to prevent a lay up but Acie did a wrap around assist to Josh for a dunk. The whole arena went bananas.

Similar thing happen another time when Josh was supposedly fouled but the refs didn't call it. Smoove was complaining about it.

If you missed those, I hope you have them on DVR or game pass. Worth a search.

[Chris18]

Acie's problem has never been beating his man off the dribble, but his ability to finish inside is not very good. If Acie can every geet a consistent shot he will be a very good point guard.