Acie Law IV

[Wretch]

It pains me to watch other teams play sometimes. Like last night, I was watching Orlando... They penetrated, dished, or drew the foul. They moved the ball... When Boston played well, they did the same and moved without the ball. Pick and rolls everywhere, ball movement, screens... We have none of that. I kept looking at Ray Allen and how Boston kept trying to free him up and I thought about how good Reggie Miller used to be at moving without the ball. I never see JJ doing that...because the ball is always in his hands.

Whether or not the kid has any real game, Acie Law is the victim of a terrible halfcourt offense. In fact, I think most of our guys are held back because of it. All except for guys like JJ, Flip, and Bibby - who all, not surprisingly, have a history of being able to create for themselves.

We can sit here and say that Woodson knows best because he sees him all the time. Though, if that were the case then playeres would never blossom in other coaches' systems. Acie needs a real chance under a real system, IMO. But I digress.

Apparently, the most important piece of our piece of our team is Mike Woodson - and has been for the last 6 years.

[TheDude]

i say you don't re-sign bibby or flip and you let acie and ramon sessions battle out for the starter....with the loser getting significant minutes.

[itsslomotionbaby]

look at the rockets, after they traded away alston.. brooks stepped up and was a key role to their team taking the lakers to 7..you have to be on the court to have an impact

law should get an actual chance to control the offense before we declare him a bust..

first off it just irks the hell out of me to see rondo perform on stage ,when i know in my heart acie had the better upside. their is just no excuse why woody cant find any playing time for acie.

woody could nock some minutes off our starters by sending in mario & acie to go uptempo at least 3 minutes out of the 43 to get us some quick buckets. maybe net us six points a game doing it. this is the same thing the pistons did with lindsey hunter, especially on nights when our offense was stagnent. it just borders on sooryness not to find any roles for our players.on nights we need an atheletic center theier is no excuse not to play solomon. why do we not have any set plays for the big men horford & solomon or zaza i have seen them stroke 10 ft. jumpers. but their is no play for them to consitantly shoot them. if our bigs could just put the ball in the basket 5 times a night horford & zaza i could live with that. please tell me how did big baby develope a better shot than horford.

[Cwell]

first off it just irks the hell out of me to see rondo perform on stage ,when i know in my heart acie had the better upside. their is just no excuse why woody cant find any playing time for acie.

woody could nock some minutes off our starters by sending in mario & acie to go uptempo at least 3 minutes out of the 43 to get us some quick buckets. maybe net us six points a game doing it. this is the same thing the pistons did with lindsey hunter, especially on nights when our offense was stagnent. it just borders on sooryness not to find any roles for our players.on nights we need an atheletic center theier is no excuse not to play solomon. why do we not have any set plays for the big men horford & solomon or zaza i have seen them stroke 10 ft. jumpers. but their is no play for them to consitantly shoot them. if our bigs could just put the ball in the basket 5 times a night horford & zaza i could live with that. please tell me how did big baby develope a better shot than horford.

agree 100%. Woodson irks the hell out of me.

[AHF]

Personally, I think Rondo always had more potential than Law. Rondo was always much longer than Law and MUCH more athletic. He also was the much more highly rated HS player and holds the assist record at a school with some pretty good PGs before him, like Rod Strickland, so the passing ability was always there. The question for Rondo was about his ability to score in the NBA more than anything. He has monstrous hands and never shot well in college and a PG who can't hit jumpers and is poor from the line has real problems ahead of him.

[coachx]

We will know if Sund has given up on Law on June 26, if we draft a PG.

Law only has 1 year guaranteed on his contract (his 3rd year). The 4th year is a team option. Obviously, next year is Law's last chance in Atlanta. I'm pulling for him to come through but I can't say that I expect it.

I have no doubt Law will be a good NBA player. I just have doubts of it happening in Atlanta under Woodson.

Edited May 28, 2009 by coachx

[Cwell]

Personally, I think Rondo always had more potential than Law. Rondo was always much longer than Law and MUCH more athletic. He also was the much more highly rated HS player and holds the assist record at a school with some pretty good PGs before him, like Rod Strickland, so the passing ability was always there. The question for Rondo was about his ability to score in the NBA more than anything. He has monstrous hands and never shot well in college and a PG who can't hit jumpers and is poor from the line has real problems ahead of him.

when they got the chance to go head to head in the playoffs last year. Acie outplayed him easily. He was just running around bibby and stopping him on defense. Then Acie came in and Rondo couldn't get anywhere he wanted cause Acie kept cutting him off and Acie was driving passed him for layups.

Edited May 28, 2009 by Cwell

[AHF]

when they got the chance to go head to head in the playoffs last year. Acie outplayed him easily. He was just running around bibby and stopping him on defense. Then Acie came in and Rondo couldn't get anywhere he wanted cause Acie kept cutting him off and Acie was driving passed him for layups.

Acie put up 8 assists to 8 turnovers against Boston in the playoffs - not heady stuff for a PG. He shot better than he could ever sustain and managed a 12.7 PER. Rondo's playoff PER last year was a 16 and this year was a 20. IMO, there just isn't a comparison between the tools the two guys have and Rondo's performance doesn't seem attainable for Law. If you look at Rondo versus much faster PGs than Bibby, you see him still succeeding such as when matched up with Tony Parker and the SAS D this season: 2 games, 11 ppg, 5 rpg, 14 apg or Utah versus Deron Williams: 2 games, 20 ppg, 5 rpg, 7.5 apg.

Now, I do think that Law has not been developed and has been done a disservice by trying to be fit in as a square peg into a round hole in our "offense." I just don't buy that they were similar prospects and the difference was development opportunities.

[AtLaS]

I have not given up on Law at all. He still needs a chance. His confidence has been killed to the point that he's hesitant because the slightest mistake gets him yanked. It pains me to see all these young players get opportunities and succeed.

Tayshaun Prince didn't get an opportunity until the playoffs his rookie season and shined. There are countless other examples.

We desperately need someone who can drive the ball, and kick if needed. He's a solid defender. He'd be the perfect change of pace guy for Bibby. But we don't even use him. It's about job protection, Woody is more concerned with winning as much as possible rather than possibly losing a few extra games while developing a player. I actually don't blame him for that since most coaches would do the same, even if it's a hindrance to our long term success.

[Cwell]

Acie put up 8 assists to 8 turnovers against Boston in the playoffs - not heady stuff for a PG. He shot better than he could ever sustain and managed a 12.7 PER. Rondo's playoff PER last year was a 16 and this year was a 20. IMO, there just isn't a comparison between the tools the two guys have and Rondo's performance doesn't seem attainable for Law. If you look at Rondo versus much faster PGs than Bibby, you see him still succeeding such as when matched up with Tony Parker and the SAS D this season: 2 games, 11 ppg, 5 rpg, 14 apg or Utah versus Deron Williams: 2 games, 20 ppg, 5 rpg, 7.5 apg.

Now, I do think that Law has not been developed and has been done a disservice by trying to be fit in as a square peg into a round hole in our "offense." I just don't buy that they were similar prospects and the difference was development opportunities.

Game 2 was the only game they really got to go against each other and Acie outplayed him. The rest of the series Woody took his minutes because he played to well. He got more minutes in that one game than he got total the rest of the series probably.

[Cwell]

I have not given up on Law at all. He still needs a chance. His confidence has been killed to the point that he's hesitant because the slightest mistake gets him yanked. It pains me to see all these young players get opportunities and succeed.

Tayshaun Prince didn't get an opportunity until the playoffs his rookie season and shined. There are countless other examples.

We desperately need someone who can drive the ball, and kick if needed. He's a solid defender. He'd be the perfect change of pace guy for Bibby. But we don't even use him. It's about job protection, Woody is more concerned with winning as much as possible rather than possibly losing a few extra games while developing a player. I actually don't blame him for that since most coaches would do the same, even if it's a hindrance to our long term success.

it's funny how guys who were supposed to be nobody's go to a team where a coach gives them a role and they shine in it. Look at Trevor Ariza and Shannon Brown,practically nobody's before they were Lakers, but Phil Jackson won't hesitate to play those guys in tight moments in games. Acie thrived in those moments in college and he's barely played in the 4th quarter at all since getting to the NBA. For a lottery pick to have played 30 minutes in a game once in 2 years is a joke. Considering that that one time was when we got Bibby and he got hurt so Woodson had no other PG to play over him. Acie scored 16 that game I think.

I see guys like Antoine Wright and Dahntay Jones start for their teams even though they suck, and we have guys that's very capable of atleast being a backup riding the bench every game.

Edited May 29, 2009 by Cwell

[yardbird]

look at the rockets, after they traded away alston.. brooks stepped up and was a key role to their team taking the lakers to 7..you have to be on the court to have an impact

law should get an actual chance to control the offense before we declare him a bust..

Blaming Acie's situation on Woody is inappropriate. As noted previously, when given the chance to run the team, primarily in his rookie season, Acie was not effective enough (or injured) to be trusted with a team trying to make the playoffs for the first time in a decade. This year, he was not in the rotation because Flip was essential as our only source of consistent points off the bench. Who among us would have played Acie before Bibby or Flip this year?

If he works at it this summer and in training camp, and either Flip or Bibby is gone next year without the infusion of a talented veteran, Acie will get his shot at serious minutes IF he can stay healthy and isn't traded. If Sund respects his talent (I assume he watches practices too), Acie won't leave this year for nothing since he's already under a reasonable contract. When his shot comes, I hope he earns it.

[hawkman]

Blaming Acie's situation on Woody is inappropriate. As noted previously, when given the chance to run the team, primarily in his rookie season, Acie was not effective enough (or injured) to be trusted with a team trying to make the playoffs for the first time in a decade. This year, he was not in the rotation because Flip was essential as our only source of consistent points off the bench. Who among us would have played Acie before Bibby or Flip this year?

If he works at it this summer and in training camp, and either Flip or Bibby is gone next year without the infusion of a talented veteran, Acie will get his shot at serious minutes IF he can stay healthy and isn't traded. If Sund respects his talent (I assume he watches practices too), Acie won't leave this year for nothing since he's already under a reasonable contract. When his shot comes, I hope he earns it.

Thankyou for stating FACTS rather than a revised version of history. There are too many excuses being made around here. I just hope that the next time Acie gets an opportunity, no matter how small, he takes advantage of it.

[AHF]

Game 2 was the only game they really got to go against each other and Acie outplayed him. The rest of the series Woody took his minutes because he played to well. He got more minutes in that one game than he got total the rest of the series probably.

Granting that (and I don't remember closely enough how many minutes were versus Rondo), I still cannot accept your premise. Rondo is simply on another level with his tools and the much larger sample size of their performance in the league to date doesn't let me think that the difference between them is simply opportunity.

Bear in mind that at age 20 Rondo put up a 13.1 PER in 1831 minutes while Acie at ages 23 & 24 put up an 8.9 PER in 1425 minutes.

[hawkman]

Game 2 was the only game they really got to go against each other and Acie outplayed him. The rest of the series Woody took his minutes because he played to well. He got more minutes in that one game than he got total the rest of the series probably.

Do you have any idea how this sounds? I hope I'm reading this out of context.

[Wurider05]

it's funny how guys who were supposed to be nobody's go to a team where a coach gives them a role and they shine in it. Look at Trevor Ariza and Shannon Brown,practically nobody's before they were Lakers, but Phil Jackson won't hesitate to play those guys in tight moments in games. Acie thrived in those moments in college and he's barely played in the 4th quarter at all since getting to the NBA. For a lottery pick to have played 30 minutes in a game once in 2 years is a joke. Considering that that one time was when we got Bibby and he got hurt so Woodson had no other PG to play over him. Acie scored 16 that game I think.

I see guys like Antoine Wright and Dahntay Jones start for their teams even though they suck, and we have guys that's very capable of atleast being a backup riding the bench every game.

Simple fact is that Woody is coaching for his job and doesn't have time to develop anyone.

[Cwell]

Do you have any idea how this sounds? I hope I'm reading this out of context.

he had no other reason. Salim was the backup PG game 1. He realized he made a mistake. Game 2 Acie got over 20 minutes and scored 12 points.He was the only bright spot in that game. Woody was interviews at halftime and was asked about Acie, and said some BS about Acie being a better matchup and having more size and he gave us more stability in running our team. The next game he only had like 8 minutes and didn't get much more time the rest of the series. All while Bibby continued to suck and Rondo continued to make him his b***h

Edited May 29, 2009 by Cwell

[Cwell]

Simple fact is that Woody is coaching for his job and doesn't have time to develop anyone.

he also doesn't seem have time to coach either. What does he do with all his time?

[AHF]

Simple fact is that Woody is coaching for his job and doesn't have time to develop anyone.

Because that is what good coaches do when they have a lottery pick who plays the same position as someone who is too old to be counted on 3 years down the line? I don't buy that as an excuse. He could give a consistent, limited role to Acie without jeopardizing the success of the team, IMO. That way the team knows whether to move on or not. Maybe Woodson feels like he has seen enough of Acie to know he can't play in the NBA. I would rather know that was the case than to think that Woodson is saying to himself that he just can't afford to develop Acie.

[Cwell]

Because that is what good coaches do when they have a lottery pick who plays the same position as someone who is too old to be counted on 3 years down the line? I don't buy that as an excuse. He could give a consistent, limited role to Acie without jeopardizing the success of the team, IMO. That way the team knows whether to move on or not. Maybe Woodson feels like he has seen enough of Acie to know he can't play in the NBA. I would rather know that was the case than to think that Woodson is saying to himself that he just can't afford to develop Acie.

Woodson hasn't shown he has the eye for NBA talent in the first place to make that judgement without giving the guy a chance. I've already seen enough to know Woodson can't coach in the NBA