ACIE LAW

blaha112 · Post #1 » by **blaha112** » Mon Apr 7, 2008 12:58 am

Hey guys,

Pacers fan here. I really liked watching acie law in college. After we traded our 1st round pick to you guys, I walked into the room of the NBA draft and saw you guys draft the guy I really wanted (acie law). I almost puked... Anywho... I haven't really gotten a chance to see him play since he is in Atlanta. Has he gotten any burn/ how has he looked when given minutes? Thanks and good luck in the playoffs.

Skyhawk1 · Post #2 » by **Skyhawk1** » Mon Apr 7, 2008 2:04 am

His presence on the court means disaster. We might have a 40 pt lead, as soon as he comes in, the team gets totally lost. No wonder he's played so little lately. Last night in Philly, Salim was the one running the point for a while, then we just had no PGs on the court when Bibby was on the bench. That shows you how bad he's been playing. He's been a huge disappointment IMO. Horford is like 110% of what we ever thought he could be, on the other hand, Law makes me think we should have traded that pick for Ridnour.

fo_o_fo_404 · Post #3 » by **fo_o_fo_404** » Mon Apr 7, 2008 2:36 am

Skyhawk1 wrote:His presence on the court means disaster. We might have a 40 pt lead, as soon as he comes in, the team gets totally lost. No wonder he's played so little lately. Last night in Philly, Salim was the one running the point for a while, then we just had no PGs on the court when Bibby was on the bench. That shows you how bad he's been playing. He's been a huge disappointment IMO. Horford is like 110% of what we ever thought he could be, on the other hand, Law makes me think we should have traded that pick for Ridnour.

I feel you on that....but if we would have traded for Ridnour....we probably would not have gotten Bibby.

Bibby> Ridnour

JoshB914 · Post #4 » by **JoshB914** » Mon Apr 7, 2008 2:40 am

Law has been a failure this year. There is really no other way to slice it, but his performance has not been there and has been nowhere near what we wanted out of a four year player. He is still a rook so hopefully he will make some progress, but he hasn't really shown me any flashes of ability to be a starting PG in this league.

BMF Jet Jaguar · Post #5 » by **BMF Jet Jaguar** » Mon Apr 7, 2008 2:55 am

JoshB914 wrote:Law has been a failure this year. There is really no other way to slice it, but his performance has not been there and has been nowhere near what we wanted out of a four year player. He is still a rook so hopefully he will make some progress, but he hasn't really shown me any flashes of ability to be a starting PG in this league.

he has a mean drive+first step

HoopsGuru25 · Post #6 » by **HoopsGuru25** » Mon Apr 7, 2008 3:02 am

I still think he can be a valuable player for the Hawks but the pick looks like a mistake especially after the Bibby trade. All of his swagger has been sucked out of him(along with his midrange jumpshot) and that was his biggest strength in college. I thought at the very least he would be a Chris Duhon type player who provided leadership/stability but he has played scared for the majority of the year. I hate when he brings the ball up the court and immediatly passes it to Joe/Chil/Smoove. I will wait to see what he does next year under a new coach but 4 year seniors are supposed to be "NBA Ready".

ATLfan · Post #7 » by **ATLfan** » Mon Apr 7, 2008 4:00 am

Every time he starts playing good he gets hurt or doesn't play.

tontoz · Post #8 » by **tontoz** » Mon Apr 7, 2008 11:22 am

JoshB914 wrote:Law has been a failure this year. There is really no other way to slice it, but his performance has not been there and has been nowhere near what we wanted out of a four year player. He is still a rook so hopefully he will make some progress, but he hasn't really shown me any flashes of ability to be a starting PG in this league.

LOL that reminds me of your comments about JJ right before he won player of the month in the NBA.

"I've lost hope regarding JJ willing this team to the playoffs. That's why we are paying him the big bucks, but I just don't see him doing that, he isn't good enough to do it and doesn't appear to want to try."

http://www.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic. ... 80&start=0

Law has done well when he has started. Each time he has gotten his game going he has gotten hurt which has set him back. He has gotten irregular minutes.

he has shown the ability to break down defenses off the dribble routinely. Just because he hasn't finished as well as we would like doesn't mean he hasn't shown anything. He has also shown that he is a good defender.

My big concern with him hasn't changed since this time last year. I am concerned about his outside shot.

conleyorbust · Post #9 » by **conleyorbust** » Mon Apr 7, 2008 1:51 pm

He has shown flashes of certain abilities but he rarely has a very good game where he does a little bit of everything. He looks absolutely lost on offense a lot of the time.

He has shown some ability to stay in front of his man of D so hopefully he can continue to develop on that side of the ball. The offseason will be big for him, he needs be able to approach the offense simply. I'd like to see the new coach work with him to be the change of pace guard from Bibby (he is a better defender than Mike and he is more of a slasher whereas Bibby is more of a shooter). When he comes in, the first thing he should look to do is attack his man and get to the rim. I think that if he can start getting some buckets consistently the rest of his game will come from there.

Its hard to say that he has been a positive part of the team this season. Hollinger wrote that this type of player (crafty college scorer) actually takes longer to develop because they are more used to the college game and have developed patterns based on it's pace. I didn't agree with him before the season but it looks like there was some wisdom in that analysis.

I'd really like it if he were able to be a solid backup next season but I don't feel comfortable starting the 08-09 season with him as the only backup pg.

LL Cool Scott · Post #10 » by **LL Cool Scott** » Mon Apr 7, 2008 2:02 pm

Pros:
He can beat his man off the dribble consistently
His defense is better than Bibby's
He's got good size and strength
From all indications, he's a great guy, and a future team leader

Cons:
He plays with zero confidence (not entirely his fault, btw)
Once he beats his man, he looks a little lost as to what to do next
His passing and vision seem a little less than average
His jumpshot is painful to watch

Overall:
Who knows - maybe he's just been so mediocre because of his loss of confidence due to injuries and spotty minutes? Hard to tell at this point, we'll probably have a better idea a year from now.

JoshB914 · Post #11 » by **JoshB914** » Mon Apr 7, 2008 2:12 pm

tontoz wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

LOL that reminds me of your comments about JJ right before he won player of the month in the NBA.

"I've lost hope regarding JJ willing this team to the playoffs. That's why we are paying him the big bucks, but I just don't see him doing that, he isn't good enough to do it and doesn't appear to want to try."

http://www.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic. ... 80&start=0

Law has done well when he has started. Each time he has gotten his game going he has gotten hurt which has set him back. He has gotten irregular minutes.

he has shown the ability to break down defenses off the dribble routinely. Just because he hasn't finished as well as we would like doesn't mean he hasn't shown anything. He has also shown that he is a good defender.

My big concern with him hasn't changed since this time last year. I am concerned about his outside shot.

With all due respect to JJ (who has been playing like a straight up stud), his game changed a lot when Bibby got here. We needed to get another piece to make the playoffs. As I said that is not a criticism of JJ, he just isn't the type of player to take a team on his back for an extended period of time. He needed some help, he got it and now he's been fantastic. Don't say this means I am taking anything away from JJ, he has been playing at an AS level. I'm just defending the comment that he has not exactly put this team on his back.

I dont think IV's situation is comparable with JJ's. There is a reason we are getting 5 minutes out of our backup PG right now. If you ask me, that is unacceptable for a four year player who was taken no. 11. A lot of us expected IV to be starting by now, instead we are only playing him because we have no one else. Salim looked better Saturday than IV has in quite a while. Hopefully a productive off season will help him, he's clearly a gutsy kid and an extremely hard worker, so I'm not going to give up on him.

tontoz · Post #12 » by **tontoz** » Mon Apr 7, 2008 2:21 pm

There is a reason we are getting 5 minutes out of our backup PG right now.

One of those reasons is that he is playing with a sprained wrist that is heavily wrapped. Having had a similar injury i can understand why he isn't being as aggressive taking it to the basket as he was earlier in the year.

It is funny how you dog Law who is a rookie who has been injured twice but defend Zaza who has been in the league for years and flat out sucks on both ends.

he just isn't the type of player to take a team on his back for an extended period of time

He won player of the month for the entire NBA but he isn't capable of carrying a team for an extended period of time? ok

Our pg play may have been the worst in the NBA until Bibby got here. it isn't like Bibby is a great pg by any stretch, he is just better than what we had. He got clowed against Philly but that didn't stop JJ from going off.

LL Cool Scott · Post #13 » by **LL Cool Scott** » Mon Apr 7, 2008 2:27 pm

Tontoz - who on this board is NOT a complete idiot, in your humble opinion?

Keep up the good work, please continue to grace us with your infinite wisdom and insight, and don't let a SINGLE comment go by without furiously exposing its author for the damned fool and affront to mankind that he is!!!

tontoz · Post #14 » by **tontoz** » Mon Apr 7, 2008 2:35 pm

LL Cool Scott wrote:Tontoz - who on this board is NOT a complete idiot, in your humble opinion?

Keep up the good work, please continue to grace us with your infinite wisdom and insight, and don't let a SINGLE comment go by without furiously exposing its author for the damned fool and affront to mankind that he is!!!

Maybe you could point out where i called him an idiot.

I pointed out a comment he made about JJ, whose player of the month award pretty much shows that he is willing and able to carry this team to the playoffs.

And Laws sprained wrist isn't exactly a state secret.

JoshB914 · Post #15 » by **JoshB914** » Mon Apr 7, 2008 2:51 pm

tontoz wrote:
There is a reason we are getting 5 minutes out of our backup PG right now.

One of those reasons is that he is playing with a sprained wrist that is heavily wrapped. Having had a similar injury i can understand why he isn't being as aggressive taking it to the basket as he was earlier in the year.

It is funny how you dog Law who is a rookie who has been injured twice but defend Zaza who has been in the league for years and flat out sucks on both ends.

he just isn't the type of player to take a team on his back for an extended period of time

He won player of the month for the entire NBA but he isn't capable of carrying a team for an extended period of time? ok

Our pg play may have been the worst in the NBA until Bibby got here. it isn't like Bibby is a great pg by any stretch, he is just better than what we had. He got clowed against Philly but that didn't stop JJ from going off.

I agree with almost everything you posted. I was simply making the point that JJ needed help in order to be successful for us.

As for IV, you are spot on with injuries. I just really haven't seen enough out of him to get excited. He has received inconsistent minutes just like 99% of rooks but he just hasn't figured it out.

I don't defend Zaza when he sucks, but I just think he is treated unfairly here. He has given us quality minutes for 3 weeks and no one says a word unless he makes one stupid/clumsy play, and then everyone goes nuts on him again.

tontoz · Post #16 » by **tontoz** » Mon Apr 7, 2008 3:03 pm

As for IV, you are spot on with injuries. I just really haven't seen enough out of him to get excited.

I am not "excited" about him either. If it turns out that he never can become a legit threat from the perimeter, which is certainly a possibility, then that will be a major hindrance in his game.

But calling him a failure as a rookie when he has been battling injuries and has Woodson as a coach is a bit extreme.

Zaza is shooting 42%, is turnover prone and can't play D. it is a bonus when he doesn't lay an egg but i don't see how the Hawks can ever be good with him being a regular part of the rotation. [/quote]

Rip2137 · Post #17 » by **Rip2137** » Mon Apr 7, 2008 3:40 pm

The Acie bashing sometimes amazes me. its like people look the other way when he is in the game sometimes. Last time he played, he came in, got two great assist, should have had 3 if not for the ZAZA (I could dunk the ball, but no...I will pump fake) and then got benched because he missed two shots and a defensive rotation and never got back in the game (and watched Bibby miss roughly 60 defensive rotations and go 1-1000 from three...but thats besides the point)

In the Raptor game, he had two great drive and dishes to Zaza, then got pulled for some reason I haven't exactly figured out, and didn't play again.

He played like crap in the Memphis game(which is probably why he got such a short hook in the Raptor game after that)

He had a damn good 8 minutes against the Knicks with his 3 assist and a steal, was pretty non existant in the bulls game in his 5 minutes, played great against Milwalkee...

Just look at the kids game logs. He is doing pretty good for the minutes given. It is obvious though that he is playing not to make mistakes because his coach will pull him the second he misses a shot, makes any mistake on defense, or turns it over. the problem is, a NBA point guard needs to be able to play with confidence or he won't succeed.

Guys like Salim, he is so cocky that he will do what he does anytime he touches the court, for better or for worse. Acie is a rookie and has had his confidence beaten the heck down this year. He has had great quarters only to not play for the next two games. Had great games only to play for 5 minutes the next.

And you have to factor in coaching (which some people say doesn't make a difference). Law is a slashing, drive and kick guy. Bibby is a pick and pop guy and a guy you can put at the top as a jumpshooting outlet when Joe gets doubled. You can't run the same offense when the two are subbed for each other.

I would like to see more minutes of a Bibby/Law back court. It has worked for little flashes since he has been here and I think that is a way to get Acie going.

JoshB914 · Post #18 » by **JoshB914** » Mon Apr 7, 2008 4:08 pm

tontoz wrote:
As for IV, you are spot on with injuries. I just really haven't seen enough out of him to get excited.

I am not "excited" about him either. If it turns out that he never can become a legit threat from the perimeter, which is certainly a possibility, then that will be a major hindrance in his game.

But calling him a failure as a rookie when he has been battling injuries and has Woodson as a coach is a bit extreme.

Zaza is shooting 42%, is turnover prone and can't play D. it is a bonus when he doesn't lay an egg but i don't see how the Hawks can ever be good with him being a regular part of the rotation.

[/quote]

We were expecting IV to be a legit contributor this season and he isn't. He has failed to do that.

I'll be the last person to say Zaza has been good this season. But it is unfair to just ignore how much better he has been over the last month. It's just that no one will say anything because they don't want to look bad.

evildallas · Post #19 » by **evildallas** » Mon Apr 7, 2008 4:14 pm

Woodson has no faith in Law, so Acie just isn't getting minutes right now. In the off-season he needs to build his strength up and get coached up quite a bit (particularly on finishing at the rim). Not every rookie comes in and plays big minutes even if they played all 4 years in college. Acie's season probably would have been a lot different if he hadn't been mugged by Ryan Hollins early in the season. At that point he was developing well and his confidence was growing. That injury was a major setback and he's only had flashes since then. Without the injury interruption he might have garnered more faith from the coaching staff. However I suspect he would have hit the rookie wall with more consistent playing time anyway and wouldn't be a great factor.

JoshB914 · Post #20 » by **JoshB914** » Mon Apr 7, 2008 4:15 pm

JoshB914 wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

We were expecting IV to be a legit contributor this season and he isn't. He has failed to do that. I said he was a failure this year, obviously it's far too soon to judge what he will do over his career.

I'll be the last person to say Zaza has been good this season. But it is unfair to just ignore how much better he has been over the last month. It's just that no one will say anything because they don't want to look bad.