I actually like AJ...

[Diesel]

AJ is a steady hand for this team. I don't know why I keep seeing proposals for Kidd and other big money PGs... I like having AJ. What I think we should do however, is try to move Lue and I would try to move him for Watson.

I think a trio of AJ, Watson, and Acie would have us set for PG... then Next year, Acie/Watson.

[thesheedera]

I like AJ a lot. He's our best player on the break, ironically enough.

It's not all about speed, it's about changing speed, protecting the ball and making good decisions. He does all of those things well.

[TheDude]

yeah, i really feel we can let the point guard talk go...AJ is a stabilizing force for us right now until Acie develops and i have no worries about acie developing...he has the physical talent and has shown the mindset in the past, its just a matter of experience at this point..

i think it is fairly obvious that what is killing the Hawks is the lack of another shooter and Woody

[frosgrim]

AJ is a very nice back-up point. The Hawks should keep him around until he wants to retire (he may even be a fine HC).

AJ absolutely does the best job of running the team while he's on the court of the points the Hawks have.

The real problem is that AJ is a back-up. He wouldn't be starting on most teams in the NBA. I would like to see the team get a guy that really run the team and keep up with the quicker guards. I would also love to see Acie play some off-guard while JJ is getting some rest. Moving Acie over to the 2 might help jump-start the kid's aggressivenes.

[bonethugz]

aj led the pacers in the playoffs couple years ago and i like him a lot but you're comparing aj to kidd? i like a kidd aj combination though

[frosgrim]

Huh? Maybe you are confused when I say that moving Acie to the 2 guard for short stretches would jump start Acie's (the kid's) offense.

I am in no way comparing AJ to Jason Kidd

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Everybody likes AJ if he has a good game. But AJ has far too many 7 point - 4 assist games as well. He just isn't a floor leader that you can count on every game. He doesn't have the skill to do that.

When you watch the good PGs in this league, you can see how they can either break people down and feed somebody for an easy lay-up . . or race up the floor and lay the ball in themselves . . or knock down the open shot when need be . . or be able to effectively run a pick and roll with somebody . . be sneaky and get timely steals.

Kidd dominates games at times. Even a Jamal Tinsley dominates the games at times. I was kind of shocked to see AJ have 6 assists in the 1st qtr and 11 for the game. Maybe it's because most of AJ's assists come from people hitting a jumpshot, rather than people making lay-ups and dunks. The 2 lobs to Marvin and the one to Smoove on the fast break were nice though.

When Acie had those 7 assists in the Charlotte game, he got people very easy looks close to the basket. Or he would pentrate to draw people to him, then kick the ball out to a wide open shooter. That's being a playmaker.

Guys like AJ and Watson are game managers. What we need at PG, is a playmaker.

In the situation we were in at Portland with 33 seconds left, a guy like a Kidd, or even an Acie, has little problem beating Roy or any of those PGs off the dribble. If they don't help, our PG gets to the rim for a possible lay-up. If they do help, a Kidd or Acie will find the open man.

Put AJ in that same situation, and he probably would have to settle for a tough jumpshot because he wouldn't be able to blow past his man.

[Packfill]

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Everybody likes AJ if he has a good game. But AJ has far too many 7 point - 4 assist games as well. He just isn't a floor leader that you can count on every game. He doesn't have the skill to do that.

When you watch the good PGs in this league, you can see how they can either break people down and feed somebody for an easy lay-up . . or race up the floor and lay the ball in themselves . . or knock down the open shot when need be . . or be able to effectively run a pick and roll with somebody . . be sneaky and get timely steals.

Kidd dominates games at times. Even a Jamal Tinsley dominates the games at times. I was kind of shocked to see AJ have 6 assists in the 1st qtr and 11 for the game. Maybe it's because most of AJ's assists come from people hitting a jumpshot, rather than people making lay-ups and dunks. The 2 lobs to Marvin and the one to Smoove on the fast break were nice though.

When Acie had those 7 assists in the Charlotte game, he got people very easy looks close to the basket. Or he would pentrate to draw people to him, then kick the ball out to a wide open shooter. That's being a playmaker.

Guys like AJ and Watson are game managers. What we need at PG, is a playmaker.

In the situation we were in at Portland with 33 seconds left, a guy like a Kidd, or even an Acie, has little problem beating Roy or any of those PGs off the dribble. If they don't help, our PG gets to the rim for a possible lay-up. If they do help, a Kidd or Acie will find the open man.

Put AJ in that same situation, and he probably would have to settle for a tough jumpshot because he wouldn't be able to blow past his man.

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I agree completely.

The Hawks desperately need a playmaker at the point guard position. I really think they should throw Law into the deep end and see if he can swim. He is a four year college guy so he should be much better equiped to handle a babtism by fire then a freshman. If the Hawks lose more games this season in the process who cares. What happens next year is much more important.

[leftwich]

AJ's not a PG you can count on? He has over a 4 to 1 assist to turnover ratio. If there's one thing that AJ IS, it's a PG that you can count on.

But I also consider 7 points, 4 assists, and 0-1 TOs a solid game, especially when he shares ball handling duties with Joe and only plays 28 mpg.

I also disagree with whoever said AJ is nothing more than a backup. I think he's a legit starting NBA PG but has been in the wrong place at the wrong time for most of his career. And aside from his 4 to 1 ratio, he's also shooting 46% from 3, 80% from the line, has a nice runner when he drives, and has quick hands on defense.

[Packfill]

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AJ's not a PG you can count on? He has over a 4 to 1 assist to turnover ratio. If there's one thing that AJ IS, it's a PG that you can count on.

But I also consider 7 points, 4 assists, and 0-1 TOs a solid game, especially when he shares ball handling duties with Joe and only plays 28 mpg.

I also disagree with whoever said AJ is nothing more than a backup. I think he's a legit starting NBA PG but has been in the wrong place at the wrong time for most of his career. And aside from his 4 to 1 ratio, he's also shooting 46% from 3, 80% from the line, has a nice runner when he drives, and has quick hands on defense.

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You really need to watch some of the better point guards in the league to get a perspective on what they do for their teams. The Hawks have been so point guard deficient for so long that most Hawks fans have no idea what good point guard play is.

[Atlantaholic]

AJ is having the best year of his life... and he is still only about average as far as PG's go. He probably shouldn't be on the team next year, as he'll probably get offered a contract above his value, so really, we need to look to either develop Acie Law or bring in some other PG talent... Any GM with an iota of brains would know this.

[Diesel]

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AJ's not a PG you can count on? He has over a 4 to 1 assist to turnover ratio. If there's one thing that AJ IS, it's a PG that you can count on.

But I also consider 7 points, 4 assists, and 0-1 TOs a solid game, especially when he shares ball handling duties with Joe and only plays 28 mpg.

I also disagree with whoever said AJ is nothing more than a backup. I think he's a legit starting NBA PG but has been in the wrong place at the wrong time for most of his career. And aside from his 4 to 1 ratio, he's also shooting 46% from 3, 80% from the line, has a nice runner when he drives, and has quick hands on defense.

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You really need to watch some of the better point guards in the league to get a perspective on what they do for their teams. The Hawks have been so point guard deficient for so long that most Hawks fans have no idea what good point guard play is.

I don't think anybody is saying that AJ is Jason Kidd, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, or Kirk Hinrich. However, for the price of a 2nd round pick... AJ is very solid. He rarely turns the ball over and he makes good decisions. You say he's not starter quality... Hell, if you take the median of the league and look at their PGs, I think AJ is better than a lot of them.

[Packfill]

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AJ's not a PG you can count on? He has over a 4 to 1 assist to turnover ratio. If there's one thing that AJ IS, it's a PG that you can count on.

But I also consider 7 points, 4 assists, and 0-1 TOs a solid game, especially when he shares ball handling duties with Joe and only plays 28 mpg.

I also disagree with whoever said AJ is nothing more than a backup. I think he's a legit starting NBA PG but has been in the wrong place at the wrong time for most of his career. And aside from his 4 to 1 ratio, he's also shooting 46% from 3, 80% from the line, has a nice runner when he drives, and has quick hands on defense.

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You really need to watch some of the better point guards in the league to get a perspective on what they do for their teams. The Hawks have been so point guard deficient for so long that most Hawks fans have no idea what good point guard play is.

I don't think anybody is saying that AJ is Jason Kidd, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, or Kirk Hinrich. However, for the price of a 2nd round pick... AJ is very solid. He rarely turns the ball over and he makes good decisions. You say he's not starter quality... Hell, if you take the median of the league and look at their PGs, I think AJ is better than a lot of them.

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The Hawks will be mediocre at best with a guy like AJ starting at the point.

[Diesel]

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AJ's not a PG you can count on? He has over a 4 to 1 assist to turnover ratio. If there's one thing that AJ IS, it's a PG that you can count on.

But I also consider 7 points, 4 assists, and 0-1 TOs a solid game, especially when he shares ball handling duties with Joe and only plays 28 mpg.

I also disagree with whoever said AJ is nothing more than a backup. I think he's a legit starting NBA PG but has been in the wrong place at the wrong time for most of his career. And aside from his 4 to 1 ratio, he's also shooting 46% from 3, 80% from the line, has a nice runner when he drives, and has quick hands on defense.

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You really need to watch some of the better point guards in the league to get a perspective on what they do for their teams. The Hawks have been so point guard deficient for so long that most Hawks fans have no idea what good point guard play is.

I don't think anybody is saying that AJ is Jason Kidd, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, or Kirk Hinrich. However, for the price of a 2nd round pick... AJ is very solid. He rarely turns the ball over and he makes good decisions. You say he's not starter quality... Hell, if you take the median of the league and look at their PGs, I think AJ is better than a lot of them.

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The Hawks will be mediocre at best with a guy like AJ starting at the point.

Obviously, we need a better PG... however, i wouldn't call AJ a bust at the PG. He does everything well. He's a good caretaker. He's like Derrick Fisher as a Laker. He knows what to do.. he's just not a star. He won't lose games for you, but he won't win a whole lot of them either.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

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Obviously, we need a better PG... however, i wouldn't call AJ a bust at the PG. He does everything well. He's a good caretaker. He's like Derrick Fisher as a Laker. He knows what to do.. he's just not a star. He won't lose games for you, but he won't win a whole lot of them either.

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Last night illustrates EXACTLY what I was talking about concerning AJ.

He was a complere non-factor in that game. And no, he does NOT do everything well. AJ is strictly a game manager, but he didn't even do that last night. When your PG takes one shot, scores one point, and has one assist, that is completely unacceptable for a starting PG in the NBA. You might as well have called AJ "Casper" last night, cause he was a ghost.

Phoenix shot 64% last night, so it's not like I'm blaming AJ for the loss. We lose that game regardless. But when you look at his individual play, the 20 minutes or so he played, was a complete waste of time.

It's like I said Diesel, AJ lacks the true PG skill to affect a game on a nightly basis. That's why he's been a reserve the vast majority of his career. He can do it sometimes when people are making shots or when he's making shots. But if that doesn't happen, he can't do the other things that most PGs do, to affect a game.

On offense, he's dependent on a guy like JJ or Smoove throwing a ball out to him, so that he can make a jumper. He rarely creates his own offense, a trait that you DON'T see in most starter quality PGs. His inability to penetrate and break people down is a big negative on a jumpshooting team like ours.

Comparing him to Derek Fisher is a good call by you, except for one thing. Fisher is a much more aggressive offensive player than AJ. No way Fisher settles for taking one shot in last night's game. And both AJ and Fisher play more like 2's most of the time, instead of 1's. If people are making shots, he can rack up the assists. If people are off, I want to see him get people easier looks going toward the basket.

In contrast, Acie played a decent game last night. At one point in that game, Acie was 4 - 7 FG, with 8 points and 3 assists, in a mere 19 minutes of play. At that time, he was looking to impact the game as a scorer, and as a playmaker. That's what we need at the PG position.

AJ would be better off playing a hybrid PG/SG role for us. Instead of the Law/Lue backcourt that Woody puts on the floor, I'd like to see a Law/AJ backcourt. When set up, AJ has shot the 3-ball very well for us. With Law at the point, AJ at the 2, and either JJ or Marvin at the 3, we may cure some of our shooting woes.

Law isn't shooting the ball well enough to be a spark type scorer off the bench. But he seems to play much better when playing with the starters. And his 3 assists in those 19 minutes of play, resulted in lay-ups and dunks. Acie plays the position much more like a PG, than AJ does.

AJ played great back in late December, and he had a great game in Portland. But it's time to see if Law can positively affect a game . . as a starter . . for 28 - 30 minutes a game. And if Law picks up 2 early fouls, leave him in there and see if he can play through it.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

I hope Acie watches closely how Sam Cassell plays the point. Too bad we can't trade AJ & Shelden for Cassell.

[leftwich]

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AJ is strictly a game manager...

AJ would be better off playing a hybrid PG/SG role for us.

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I hope that you can see the inconsistency in these two sentences.

And I agree that AJ is a game manager, so what gives you the idea he's not someone you can count on like you said earlier? That's the role of a game manager. Thinking that a veteran point guard with one of the top assist to turnover ratios in the league can't be counted on is a bizarre mindset to have.

[Diesel]

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It's like I said Diesel, AJ lacks the true PG skill to affect a game on a nightly basis. That's why he's been a reserve the vast majority of his career. He can do it sometimes when people are making shots or when he's making shots. But if that doesn't happen, he can't do the other things that most PGs do, to affect a game.

On offense, he's dependent on a guy like JJ or Smoove throwing a ball out to him, so that he can make a jumper. He rarely creates his own offense, a trait that you DON'T see in most starter quality PGs. His inability to penetrate and break people down is a big negative on a jumpshooting team like ours.

Again, you're confusing STAR PG with good caretaker. I agree, he's not going to come out and take over a game and make his presence known in every game. There are only a handful of PGs that can do that: Kidd, D WIlliams, Chris Paul, and Steve Nash. We call those Star PGs. Guys like Miller, Calderon, D. Harris, etc... they don't show up every night and those guys are the second tier of PGs. A guy like AJ is a guy who can manage the game and do what you need him to do as far as managing the game, but you're right, he's not going to do what Star PGs do. As Chris Paul rips up the league, think about what our team would be like if we had him.

One other thing is this... You also have to look at the offensive gameplan that he's asked to run. You make statements about when AJ can score. Well, the question is how disciplined is our offense? What type of system do we run? For the most part, I think the offensive coaching is very bad. This is not playstation where guys do what they're supposed to do every time down the court. In the NBA, there must be a gameplan and offensively, Wood hasn't offered a lot of that!

[TheNorthCydeRises]

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I hope that you can see the inconsistency in these two sentences.

And I agree that AJ is a game manager, so what gives you the idea he's not someone you can count on like you said earlier? That's the role of a game manager. Thinking that a veteran point guard with one of the top assist to turnover ratios in the league can't be counted on is a bizarre mindset to have.

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He took one shot last night Left. He touches the ball on almost evry trip up the floor, yet, he takes one shot. He had no positive impact on that game whatsoever, because he didn't try to make anything happen. Is that what you call "counting on somebody"?

Assist/turnover ratios are fine. He doesn't turn the ball over, good. But part of the reason why he doesn't have more turnovers, is that he doesn't try to make many plays going toward the basket.

Do you know who are perennially in the top 5 or 10 in turnovers every year? Jason Kidd and Steve Nash.

Do you know why? It's because they're always trying to make things happen for their team.

Let's look at this another way. Do you know why most people would rather have Smoove over Marvin, if given a choice?

Marvin makes less mistakes than Smoove, and he shoots way better.

But Smoove makes more thing happen on both ends of the floor. So because of that, people would rather have Smoove than Marvin.

Marvin can score 20 in a game, and you'd hardly notice it.

Smoove could score 13, and you'd notice him because he'll also have 5 blocks, 4 assists, and 3 steals.

So in a sense, Marvin plays a "game manager" type of game, while Smoove plays an "impact/playmaker" type of game.

The same goes for PG play. A guy who tries to make things happen on the floor, is more valuable than a guy who is content to not make many mistakes, by playing a "safe" game.

People constantly complain about Acie playing scared, or playing not to make mistakes. When you play the point, you can't play it not to make mistakes. You have to play it as a true floor leader, to not only make everyone else better, but also to help your team win. And if you also hve to score, so be it.

AJ did neither one vs Phoenix.

When you look across the league, there isn't a single team that would trade their starting PG, for ours. Not even Seattle trades Watson for AJ straight up.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

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Again, you're confusing STAR PG with good caretaker. I agree, he's not going to come out and take over a game and make his presence known in every game. There are only a handful of PGs that can do that: Kidd, D WIlliams, Chris Paul, and Steve Nash. We call those Star PGs. Guys like Miller, Calderon, D. Harris, etc... they don't show up every night and those guys are the second tier of PGs.

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Wrong. Those 2nd tier guys do show up every night. They may not put up big numbers every night, like the stars do, but they're going to do exactly what they should do as PGs. As a PG, you not only have to create for others, you have to create for yourself sometimes as well. When you create for yourself, it keeps the defense honest. Most important, you can't play the position in a passive manner. Even guys like Duhon, Sergio, Farmar, and Lowry play the point like it should be played.

67% of AJ points come from assists by other people. That's not good at all as a PG. Most PGs have only 30 - 50% of their points coming via assists. When you see that high of a percentage for AJ, it means that he is hardly doing anything creation-wise off the dribble. He can't impact a game every night, with that kind of percentage.

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A guy like AJ is a guy who can manage the game and do what you need him to do as far as managing the game, but you're right, he's not going to do what Star PGs do. As Chris Paul rips up the league, think about what our team would be like if we had him.

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Ish, all I ask him to do, is what a Telfair does. AJ isn't better than Telfair as a PG. AJ is a better open jumpshooter.

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One other thing is this... You also have to look at the offensive gameplan that he's asked to run. You make statements about when AJ can score. Well, the question is how disciplined is our offense? What type of system do we run? For the most part, I think the offensive coaching is very bad. This is not playstation where guys do what they're supposed to do every time down the court. In the NBA, there must be a gameplan and offensively, Wood hasn't offered a lot of that!

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Diesel, you've just answered your own question, and you don't even know it. The PG is ALSO resonsible for the offense that we run. A PG has a number of offensive plays that he can run in the halfcourt set. The type of system that a team runs, has a lot to do with the PG and his abilities.

I was shocked to see Seattle beat the Spurs last night . . . until I found out that Parker was out. Jacque Vaughn is a "game manager/caretaker" just like AJ is. And lt me address that phrase for a minute.

Being called a game manager is NOT a compliment. It's more of a backhanded compliment, if anything. Whenever you hear a guy called that, they say it because it refers to him not having the talent to truly play the position, so he should just go out and not (( bleep )) anything up.

You hear that all the time whe referring to a QB.

- Trent Dilfer

- Shawn King

- Ben Rothleisberger ( his first 2 years )

- David Garrard ( for most of the NFL season )

And when you hear it in basketball, it almost always refers to a guy who isn't fast or is losng his skill. People don't call a guy like Miller or Caderon a "caretaker". They actually make plays.

I used to play exactly like AJ does, as a soph in high school. My junior year, I'm all slated to come in and start varsity. Coach loved how I managed the game, passed the ball, and didn't force the issue.

Then a senior from Virginia transferrs to my school, and immeadiately shows coach how a PLAYMAKING PG plays the position. Coach was content with me playing the spot, until he saw Octavius.

Radio announcer ends up giving him the nickname "High Octane", because he played the position at a fast pace, was always in attack mode, and constantly looked to get people easy baskets. He couldn't shoot worth a damn, which enabled me to still get playing time. But he took my spot because I played the position "too safe", while he took chances and mde plays for people.

Diesel, "PG" does not stand for pass guard, or position guard, or passive guard. It stands for POINT guard. He's the guard that is supposed to generate points for his team. Decent PGs can both score and create for others. Star PGs take over games.

If you rank the PGs across the league, is AJ even in the top 30? And if he isn't, how in the world is he "decent"?