Hawks guard Law feels he has 'much to prove'

[AtLaS]

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That might have benefitted us in the end. Doubt ownership would have had the brass to let BK go get Bibby had Acie been healthy and effective.

Had Acie been healthy and effective, we'd have won more games, Acie would've gained confidence and the Hawks would've been altogether more successful.

Had he went out there and miserably failed, they still would've traded for Bibby. I don't see how that injury or Acie's lack of time could have benefitted us.

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question is: Can Law play solid in *hopefully* increasing minutes down the stretch, gaining the team's confidence come life without Bibby next year

If Acie becomes an effective starting PG, I don't think we will have worries about his minutes down the stretch. The guy is as clutch as they come.

[NJHAWK]

Im not a huge Woody supporter or nut huger as someone else posted BUT both times Acie started playing well and looking like he was turning the corner BOOM he got hurt. It wasnt Acie's fault, it wasnt Woody's fault. That is just the way shyyt went down. When Acie came back after the 2nd injury there were already comments out there from ASG that pretty much said the Hawks had to make the playoffs or else. Woody didnt have the luxury to wait for Acie to get back on track down the stretch.

[NJHAWK]

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You have to cheer for this guy if you are a Hawk fan. The determination of this kid makes me think he will succeed. I was one of the people that doubted him after his rookie season, but it's good to know that he's taking it upon himself to get better and not making excuses. There are signs of a future leader there. I hope he surprises the naysayers this season, including me.

yeah it would feel great to have gotten two great players and leaders in one draft.considering how we wasted every one but two picks before that.

Which picks were the " every one but two" ? I don think Smoove, Chills, and Marv were wasted. Shellhead was a bust but at least it turned into Bibby.

[sturt]

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Woodson bashed himself...apprently his coaching staff did too.

that's what jumped out at me and I'm glad to hear it. that has to be addressed by mgt.

*Spit-take*... huh? What's that???

Let me get this straight... site managers (assistant coaches) shouldn't disagree with their mid-manager boss (head coach)? The mid-manager shouldn't be allowed to disagree with his underlings, or should poll them and go with majority vote? Mid-managers shouldn't be allowed to make a given decision when their site managers disagree? So, you'd like the corporate board and CEO (ASG and Sund) to intervene and force the mid-manager accept his underlings override?

Likewise, Doc, perhaps you then also would support the idea of hospital boards requiring surgeons to pass their most consequential decisions through a vote of a group of residents.

Yeah, that's the hospital where I'd like to be treated... everyone with me?

Back to... reality... surely you didn't mean this the way I took it (?).

Other than this, I agree with most of what's been said in the article and in this thread... I appreciate Law's maturity in retrospect... I appreciate Woodson's refreshing candor, especially in the face of the criticism laying in wait just outside his door from the maniacal mob types... I appreciate that Woodson understood how important it was both for his own future and moreover for the franchise's credibility that the team make the playoffs... and I appreciate that Law is being as pro-active as he is.

Let's not get carried away with expectations, though... Failing a Bibby injury, the assertion that Law could take away Bibby's starting job halfway through the year is a nice thought that Acie would be that good... but I'll be happy if he stays healthy and is performing good enough to earn a 67/33 split of the PG minutes with Bibby.

[Zone034life]

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Seriously, we could have been getting ready to trot out the AJ-Law-Lue show again.

Actually you're wrong. Both AJ and Lue are free agents this offseason. Add them with free agent Lo Wright and thats about 8-9 mil in cap space. Acie will be needed to defend the better PG's in the league because Bibby is a non factor defensively. To hear him working hard shows the type of determination that every coach wants to hear. His health may be what holds him back from reaching his potential. If he is healthy then I expect him to make an impact next season.

Speaking of coaching, Woody has to show me this season he is ready to play and trust his bench before I give him any praise. As I said before the bench has not played up to par partly because of lack of talent and partly because the head coach having zero confidence in them. Many people do not realize the mental part of the game. If fans and the media expect Solo,Law,Richardson,West,ZaZa to fail thats one thing. But if they know Woody does as well that will kill there confidence and affect there performance on the floor.

[Swatguy]

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As I said before the bench has not played up to par partly because of lack of talent and partly because the head coach having zero confidence in them. Many people do not realize the mental part of the game. If fans and the media expect Solo,Law,Richardson,West,ZaZa to fail thats one thing. But if they know Woody does as well that will kill there confidence and affect there performance on the floor.

BS

You expect coach to have confidence it a serious lack of talent and will? These guys are grown men. MEN not boys, not Women.

A man grabs his gonads and do what men do. confidence is an inside job.

Ain't no holding hands in the NBA.

Oh I guess Woody said bad words to them, Poppycock.

[Zone034life]

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As I said before the bench has not played up to par partly because of lack of talent and partly because the head coach having zero confidence in them. Many people do not realize the mental part of the game. If fans and the media expect Solo,Law,Richardson,West,ZaZa to fail thats one thing. But if they know Woody does as well that will kill there confidence and affect there performance on the floor.

BS

You expect coach to have confidence it a serious lack of talent and will? These guys are grown men. MEN not boys, not Women.

A man grabs his gonads and do what men do. confidence is an inside job.

Ain't no holding hands in the NBA.

Oh I guess Woody said bad words to them, Poppycock.

Then how can you explain many players who have a routines before every performance? How can you explain Rick Ankiel throwing pitches to the back stop?

To dismiss the mental part of the game is a lack of knowlegde. Ask any professional and they will tell you that if there coach is confident in them it helps them perform. Especially with young players such as Salim,Solo,Rich and Mario West who are still impressionable.

You think Jerry Sloan had confidence in Paul Milsap?

You think Rick Adelman showed confidence in Carl Landry?

What about Doc Rivers with Leon Powe and Big Baby?

None of these players would have flourished under Mike Woodson. He never would have let them fail so they can learn from there mistakes. Woody needs to go to a Phil Jackson coaching session to learn how to instill confidence in players and get there FULL potential to shine.

[DrReality]

Back to... reality... surely you didn't mean this the way I took it (?).

don't know where you came up with all that. What mgt has to addres is show Woody coached that prevented us from reaching our potential. There are so many issues that have been raised here on HS: offense, minutes, rotations, etc. I was glad to hear that his assisistants disagreed with him. I thought that was positive . . . . . but he didn't listen. And I was disappointed when he was retained. Think he should still be an assistant himself.

but this talk brings up the idea of how Woody will coach differently under Sund. We know that his relationship with BK went South and there was a lot of strain. Will Sund bring out in him some redeeming qualities? I'm not going to hold my breath.

[mrhonline]

I'm glad he feels he has "much to prove," because, yes, he does have "much to prove."

It was a very disappointing rookie season for him. I'm not that impressed by his game at the NBA level, but he has heart, and often that can get you farther in the NBA than players of better talent.

I really want Law to succeed.

[Cwell]

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You have to cheer for this guy if you are a Hawk fan. The determination of this kid makes me think he will succeed. I was one of the people that doubted him after his rookie season, but it's good to know that he's taking it upon himself to get better and not making excuses. There are signs of a future leader there. I hope he surprises the naysayers this season, including me.

yeah it would feel great to have gotten two great players and leaders in one draft.considering how we wasted every one but two picks before that.

Which picks were the " every one but two" ? I don think Smoove, Chills, and Marv were wasted. Shellhead was a bust but at least it turned into Bibby. Marvin was a wasted pick.The 04 draft and 07 draft was our only two good drafts under Knight.

[Cwell]

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As I said before the bench has not played up to par partly because of lack of talent and partly because the head coach having zero confidence in them. Many people do not realize the mental part of the game. If fans and the media expect Solo,Law,Richardson,West,ZaZa to fail thats one thing. But if they know Woody does as well that will kill there confidence and affect there performance on the floor.

BS

You expect coach to have confidence it a serious lack of talent and will? These guys are grown men. MEN not boys, not Women.

A man grabs his gonads and do what men do. confidence is an inside job.

Ain't no holding hands in the NBA.

Oh I guess Woody said bad words to them, Poppycock. lol speaking of BS....um your post......u must have never played a sport before? because that's what that post makes it look like.That grown man stuff is BS. U don't automatically adapt to the NBA game.If u spent most of your college career guarding for inferior players then u have to guard Kevin Garnett,you'd need time to adjust. And if your coach pulls u after one mistake that doesn't let u adjust,it just prolongs him not being ready. You see Phil Jackson in the finals not scared to play Trevor Ariza after he was out the whole time after they got him from Orlando.He wasn't scared to play Chris Mihm. Flip Saunders wasn't scared to put Rodney Stuckey out there in the playoffs. Acie Law was looking like he could have as much a successful post season as Stuckey did but the difference was........Saunders kept Stuckey out there.......Woody kept Acie on the bench. He rewards good play with LESS MINUTES..........what kind of coaching is that? Funny how during the season he can have 20+ minutes with like 6-8 assists and no turnovers......next game: 4 minutes.........game after:DNP. Is that supposed to help confidence?it meant no matter what he did he would be chained to the bench .He needed somebody to be out for him to get good minutes and he always performed. When Aj was suspended,when Chillz was hurt when Bibby got hurt his first game with us. any other time Woody mostly found ways not to play him and if he did it was with garbage players who didn't have confidence either because of Woody.

[frosgrim]

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That's why this week of work in mini-camp and the chance to run things in Salt Lake City are so appealing to Law, who save for a two-week break has been in the gym, weight room and

therapy, for the wrist injury

that cost him much of his rookie season, with military precision.

If he is still going to therapy for his wrist, then that tells me it is not 100%. He injured it on February 20th, that is roughly 5 months. What is the timetable for a sprained wrist injury? I would guess the first time its something like 2 months, but when it is a recurring injury it takes longer.

Its more than the sprained wrist. Its the sprain on top of the break he had in college. It sounds like the break didn't heal properly while in college, thus the new treatments are getting some of the strength and circulation to the weakend areas. Serious soft tissue damage in conjucntion with breaks in the small bones of the wrist can take a long time to heal since its very hard to issolate the area. Walt probably can speak better about the process as he's a PT person.

I do like what the interview says about Law's mind set. He is hungry to show that he can be a start PG in the NBA.

In terms of Woodson. Its just like Law. Woody can say all the right things (and he does at times), but until he shows me that he's learned, then its nothing but wasted air coming out of his mouth. Woodson has demonstrated that he doesn't do what he says he'll do, so I don't believe anything from him.

[exodus]

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In terms of Woodson. Its just like Law. Woody can say all the right things (and he does at times), but until he shows me that he's learned, then its nothing but wasted air coming out of his mouth. Woodson has demonstrated that he doesn't do what he says he'll do, so I don't believe anything from him.

Seriously how many times has he said he is playing JJ too many minutes and then turns around and plays him 40+ minutes the next game.

[Cwell]

yeah his defintion of resting Joe is giving Mario 30 seconds of his playing time at the end of the 2nd quarter.That way Joe only plays 47:30 minutes.

[uga2006]

Thats why you gotta love Acie. He is out working hard to improve and be the best he can be. The one thing you gotta love is he can get to the basket with the best of them. I look for him to have a good season and he should only get better. I don't think a Chauncy Billups comparisson is too far off from what Acie can be.

[Swatguy]

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[

lol speaking of BS....um your post......u must have never played a sport before? because that's what that post makes it look like.That grown man stuff is BS. U don't automatically adapt to the NBA game.If u spent most of your college career guarding for inferior players then u have to guard Kevin Garnett,you'd need time to adjust. And if your coach pulls u after one mistake that doesn't let u adjust,it just prolongs him not being ready. You see Phil Jackson in the finals not scared to play Trevor Ariza after he was out the whole time after they got him from Orlando.He wasn't scared to play Chris Mihm. Flip Saunders wasn't scared to put Rodney Stuckey out there in the playoffs. Acie Law was looking like he could have as much a successful post season as Stuckey did but the difference was........Saunders kept Stuckey out there.......Woody kept Acie on the bench. He rewards good play with LESS MINUTES..........what kind of coaching is that? Funny how during the season he can have 20+ minutes with like 6-8 assists and no turnovers......next game: 4 minutes.........game after:DNP. Is that supposed to help confidence?it meant no matter what he did he would be chained to the bench .He needed somebody to be out for him to get good minutes and he always performed. When Aj was suspended,when Chillz was hurt when Bibby got hurt his first game with us. any other time Woody mostly found ways not to play him and if he did it was with garbage players who didn't have confidence either because of Woody.

The basketball world watched in amazement as Ariza and Mihms were permitted to STINK UP THE JOINT in the Finals (Phil got punked). Saunders had to use Stuckey (who is far better than Law) because of injuries. But the genius Flip kept Sheed and Rip on the bench for crucial minutes in 4th quarters, and gave Boston the series (need to check Flips deposits). Flip seems not to be trying to Win.

These guys been playing ball all their lives at a high leel. In the NBA guys get paid to play beyond fears. If they are fearful and weak, the need to sit on the bench and cheer. Point blank. Stop alibiing Law for not playing up.

It Is His Job to Play Up.

Can't make chicken salad out of chicken poop.

By the way, Law sat out for his wrist a Lot of times, particularly after playing significant minutes the game before. If you don't know.

[LawDog]

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lol speaking of BS....um your post......u must have never played a sport before? because that's what that post makes it look like.That grown man stuff is BS. U don't automatically adapt to the NBA game.If u spent most of your college career guarding for inferior players then u have to guard Kevin Garnett,you'd need time to adjust. And if your coach pulls u after one mistake that doesn't let u adjust,it just prolongs him not being ready. You see Phil Jackson in the finals not scared to play Trevor Ariza after he was out the whole time after they got him from Orlando.He wasn't scared to play Chris Mihm. Flip Saunders wasn't scared to put Rodney Stuckey out there in the playoffs. Acie Law was looking like he could have as much a successful post season as Stuckey did but the difference was........Saunders kept Stuckey out there.......Woody kept Acie on the bench. He rewards good play with LESS MINUTES..........what kind of coaching is that? Funny how during the season he can have 20+ minutes with like 6-8 assists and no turnovers......next game: 4 minutes.........game after:DNP. Is that supposed to help confidence?it meant no matter what he did he would be chained to the bench .He needed somebody to be out for him to get good minutes and he always performed. When Aj was suspended,when Chillz was hurt when Bibby got hurt his first game with us. any other time Woody mostly found ways not to play him and if he did it was with garbage players who didn't have confidence either because of Woody.

The basketball world watched in amazement as Ariza and Mihms were permitted to STINK UP THE JOINT in the Finals (Phil got punked). Saunders had to use Stuckey (who is far better than Law) because of injuries. But the genius Flip kept Sheed and Rip on the bench for crucial minutes in 4th quarters, and gave Boston the series (need to check Flips deposits). Flip seems not to be trying to Win.

These guys been playing ball all their lives at a high leel. In the NBA guys get paid to play beyond fears. If they are fearful and weak, the need to sit on the bench and cheer. Point blank. Stop alibiing Law for not playing up.

It Is His Job to Play Up.

Can't make chicken salad out of chicken poop.

By the way, Law sat out for his wrist a Lot of times, particularly after playing significant minutes the game before. If you don't know.

Hey SwatClown,

Your sweetheart Stuckey (who was dealt a much better hand of cards than Acie) had WAY more games last season than the "injury-prone" Law, right? Let's see...57 games for Stuckey and....56 for Law. 1 game.

[EazyRoc]

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You have to cheer for this guy if you are a Hawk fan. The determination of this kid makes me think he will succeed. I was one of the people that doubted him after his rookie season, but it's good to know that he's taking it upon himself to get better and not making excuses. There are signs of a future leader there. I hope he surprises the naysayers this season, including me.

yeah it would feel great to have gotten two great players and leaders in one draft.considering how we wasted every one but two picks before that.

Which picks were the " every one but two" ? I don think Smoove, Chills, and Marv were wasted. Shellhead was a bust but at least it turned into Bibby. Marvin was a wasted pick.The 04 draft and 07 draft was our only two good drafts under Knight.

Care to explain how Marvin is a "wasted pick" ? or are you just a raging Marvin hater ?

[Guest]

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Its more than the sprained wrist. Its the sprain on top of the break he had in college. It sounds like the break didn't heal properly while in college, thus the new treatments are getting some of the strength and circulation to the weakend areas. Serious soft tissue damage in conjucntion with breaks in the small bones of the wrist can take a long time to heal since its very hard to issolate the area. Walt probably can speak better about the process as he's a PT person.

It was originally broken in High School. My main question is, doesn't this seem like a recurring injury? By that I mean that it does not take that much of an impact on his wrist to hurt it again and again. I see this as having recurring injury written all over it.

[Swatguy]

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Hey Swatguy,

Your sweetheart Stuckey (who was dealt a much better hand of cards than Acie) had WAY more games last season than the "injury-prone" Law, right? Let's see...57 games for Stuckey and....56 for Law. 1 game.

Lawfool,

redirect your question to the poster which wrote of Stuckey's games played, I didn't.