Hawks guard Law feels he has 'much to prove'

CWell · Post #1 » by **CWell** » Sun Jul 13, 2008 11:32 pm

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/hawks/stories/2008/07/13/hawks_0714.html

ATLfan · Post #2 » by **ATLfan** » Sun Jul 13, 2008 11:39 pm

I expect big things from Acie this season.

atl_fan · Post #3 » by **atl_fan** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 12:04 am

You have to wonder if Acie shows he can run this team every night if that will make Bibby expendable at the trade deadline, Speedy's health could also factor into that decision.

At least Woodson had explained why he shrunk the rotation, hopefully less pressure at the beginning of the season will be reason enough for him to expand the rotation.

joeshmoe · Post #4 » by **joeshmoe** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 1:36 am

I hope Acie has a breakout season as well. But I'm just hoping he will be a solid back-up.

So many people seem to want to get rid of Bibby even though we got so much better with him. I understand that a lot of it has to do with the size of his contract preventing us from getting other pieces. But I'm much more concerned with being able to keep Bibby, a big piece that we have been missing for a long time, a very good point guard. Acie even if he improves dramatically will not be in the same league as Bibby for a few more years if ever. I'm not knocking Acie, Bibby is just a very good point guard.

Remember, we have yet to see a healthy Bibby in a Hawks uniform, and when we do I don't think many people will be as interested in moving him. I actually think we should give Bibby an extension now while his value is low, coming off his injury. I'm afraid we will not be able to afford him after next season.

NDaATL · Post #5 » by **NDaATL** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 2:10 am

joeshmoe wrote: I actually think we should give Bibby an extension now while his value is low, coming off his injury. I'm afraid we will not be able to afford him after next season.

Giving Bibby an extension is not an option. We'd have to pay him MORE than he's making now. If we desparately want to keep him, he's going to have to take a significant paycut.

That said, I'm very high on Acie and I think he'll be a starter in the future. Like I said on the other board, if Ryan Hollins had a brain, Acie wouldn't have gotten hurt and could've started 40 games. He had started the 2 prior to that and played very well.

CWell · Post #6 » by **CWell** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 2:25 am

joeshmoe wrote:I hope Acie has a breakout season as well. But I'm just hoping he will be a solid back-up.

So many people seem to want to get rid of Bibby even though we got so much better with him. I understand that a lot of it has to do with the size of his contract preventing us from getting other pieces. But I'm much more concerned with being able to keep Bibby, a big piece that we have been missing for a long time, a very good point guard. Acie even if he improves dramatically will not be in the same league as Bibby for a few more years if ever. I'm not knocking Acie, Bibby is just a very good point guard.

Remember, we have yet to see a healthy Bibby in a Hawks uniform, and when we do I don't think many people will be as interested in moving him. I actually think we should give Bibby an extension now while his value is low, coming off his injury. I'm afraid we will not be able to afford him after next season.

Mike Bibby is not in our future.He was a rental and still is.He's gone next year and it might be earlier.He's not good enough to even be considered for an extension.He's nearing to the end of his starting days.I'm confident Acie will be our PG going forward and we need to get a good backup for him and Bibby can't be that.

joeshmoe · Post #7 » by **joeshmoe** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 2:27 am

Giving Bibby an extension is not an option. We'd have to pay him MORE than he's making now.

Thanks, I did not realize this. I hope we will be able to re-sign him after this season. We will have his Bird rights.

To get back on subject, I am excited about seeing what Acie can do this season. I watched him play a lot in college, and he was an absolute stud. He carried A&M. Last year he just didn't seem to have that swagger that he did in college. I hope he gets it back this year. He seems to have a great attitude.

joeshmoe · Post #8 » by **joeshmoe** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 2:45 am

Mike Bibby is not in our future.He was a rental and still is.He's gone next year and it might be earlier.He's not good enough to even be considered for an extension.He's nearing to the end of his starting days.I'm confident Acie will be our PG going forward and we need to get a good backup for him and Bibby can't be that.

I think there is a good chance that you are right, and Bibby will not be in our future. I, however, do not relish the idea of losing him. The program will take a huge step backwards without a pg of Bibby's quality to lead the team. You may not have noticed how much better we were with Bibby this season, but you will see how good he is this coming season when he is healthy. As far as Acie goes, I hope he will be the pg of the future too. But at this point, there are not too many objective reasons to be confident that he will be anytime soon.

parson · Post #9 » by **parson** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 3:24 am

I'd expect Bibby's best effort this season. After all, he's playing for a contract. All the people around him - his family, his posse - all know the money train is shutting down without a really good season from him.

A NBA point needs 3-4 years to develop. If Acie's lucky, he'll get 2.

Hawks · Post #10 » by **Hawks** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 3:32 am

I think we will be just fine as Law as our PG of the future. Use this season to get his confidence back and he will be just fine. Otherwise we wasted away the #11 pick in the draft. After this upcoming season it is Law at PG. We gotta give him his chance. If we want to keep a player like Horford around long term then Bibby is gone after this season.

JoshB914 · Post #11 » by **JoshB914** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 4:11 am

Acie should feel like he has something prove. He didn't prove much last year but as Sekou said, injuries didn't help.

Woodson said what a lot of us were saying all along. He simply couldn't afford to just Acie play until he got his legs back in a playoff race. It was a sacrifice Woody wasn't about to make considering his job security. I think this year Woody will really test Acie and we'll see what he's all about.

killbuckner · Post #12 » by **killbuckner** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 11:07 am

People are acting like its a waste if the 11th pick in the draft only turns into a backup. In reality if you get a contributing player at #11 then you have done your job, expecting a player taken that low to turn into a guaranteed starter is ridiculous. Acie certainly didn't know enough last season to show that he WILL be a legitimate starting PG at any point in his career. Hell yes Acie has everything to prove!

raleigh · Post #13 » by **raleigh** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 12:50 pm

killbuckner wrote:People are acting like its a waste if the 11th pick in the draft only turns into a backup. In reality if you get a contributing player at #11 then you have done your job, expecting a player taken that low to turn into a guaranteed starter is ridiculous. Acie certainly didn't know enough last season to show that he WILL be a legitimate starting PG at any point in his career. Hell yes Acie has everything to prove!

KB, you and I seem to be on the same page a lot lately.

Should we be scared?

Rod700 · Post #14 » by **Rod700** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 2:40 pm

There are too many people to quote above, but in response to several important incites:

1. I agree with KB that we can't expect the 11th pick to automatically be a starter.
2. I don't think that this past season was so much a matter of Acie not showing us anything, as it was of BK not giving the guy the minutes he needed to develop when he was healthy.
3. I agree that it is best to view Bibby as a rental. If we can re-sign him for a reasonable (much cheaper) salary, then great. But we need to be prepared in case we cannot, and that means having a back-up that is ready to be an adequate starter if needed. My fear is that if Woodson does not play Law, doesn't develop him, and doesn't see what he is or is not capable of, then he is a question mark, and that just doesn't cut it when a solid point is such a critical component for a young team needing leadership at the position. I'm afraid that leads to Acie being more valuable as being a trade piece to bring in a proven point if we loose Bibby. If we don't, (and I'm sure the new GM won't, because he is a yes man), then we could very well end up with nothing but Law, and free agency, or the draft to address our point guard needs. I don't think the draft would be an adequate solution since we need a verteran point who won't make rookie mistakes. I hate just sitting around till free agency of 09 to figure things out. Does anyone know what point guards are available that summer?

JoshB914 · Post #15 » by **JoshB914** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 3:33 pm

I have a feeling that Woody is going to start playing Law 20 minutes a game no matter what this season. Then everyone will jump on him for giving him minutes every night like they did with Zaza.

td00 · Post #16 » by **td00** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 3:43 pm

I like Acie's makeup a lot. He has played well for us in spots. I expect him to get a lot of playing time and really show his true talent.
This is the year he can relax and just be Acie. All the pressure is on Bibby.
He brings good intangibles to a team.

tbhawksfan · Post #17 » by **tbhawksfan** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 3:48 pm

Law started last season hot (SL). Between his injuries and Woody totally mis-coaching him (and others) he never got going again, until he got a chance to shine in the series; which he did.

The best info in the article is Woodson's quotes about how bad his own coaching was. It makes me feel no better though that he is admitting his mistakes. He was paid to be a NBA coach and he sucked. Will he change his lame ways and losen it up a bit or will he continue to suck.

killbuckner · Post #18 » by **killbuckner** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 4:09 pm

If Acie got 5 extra minutes a game last season its certainly possible they would have missed the playoffs. That was always my question to the people who thought he wasn't playing enough, would you have really been willing to miss the playoffs to develop him? Would you really have had enough faith to put your job on the line on the idea that you could play him more and still make the playoffs?

Rip2137 · Post #19 » by **Rip2137** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 4:24 pm

I don't see how anyone can say that when looking at the production from the PG's on the court in front of him. yes, Bibby and Aj and sometimes Lue played well some games, but on ALOT of nights where they weren't hitting their shot, they were the flaw on the court. AJ was a decent defender against bigger guards but Bibby and Lue were useless on that end of the court. Lue doesn't get anyone involved on the offense. So when these guys weren't hitting shots they were bad defenders not offering anything on the offensive end either.

Worse case scenario, if Law had gotten more time, our guard defense would have been better. If he gave us nothing on the offensive end on those nights, we still would have been better off.

HoopsGuru25 · Post #20 » by **HoopsGuru25** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 4:27 pm

killbucker get real..there was never a debate on this board if Acie should play over Bibby. The debate was that Woodson continued to pay AJ big minutes despite the team sucking(7-19 after the 5 game winning streak). The team was clearly going nowhere before the trade deadline.

Woodson also started Blo Wright and Speedy(although I gave him the benefit of the doubt because of injury)over 30 games(primarily during the only stretch when the team was healthy) the year before despite both of them struggling big time. I guess he didn't want to make the playoffs then either according to your logic.