Acie Law fearless once again

[Vesper]

Acie Feerless

Acie Law fearless once again

By Mark Bradley | Thursday, October 16, 2008, 07:40 PM

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

His name is Acie Law IV, and the Hawks haven’t yet seen one-fourth of what he can do. At Texas A&M, he was fearless. As an NBA rookie, he played scared.

He was afraid he’d mess up, afraid he’d get benched, so afraid of doing the wrong thing that he didn’t do much of anything. This isn’t uncommon with rookies, rookie point guards especially, but Law knew even as he was hesitating how hesitant he’d become.

“I was tense [last season],” he said Wednesday, following the Hawks’ exhibition loss to Phoenix. “I wasn’t aggressive. I was real passive. I was kind of trying to play mistake-free and not to make coach mad.”

Over the summer he watched video of himself and barely recognized the guy he saw. Had he left his collegiate persona — Captain Clutch, as he was known — in College Station? Whatever became of the daring young man who’d starred in a series of televised Big 12 instant classics?

“I’ve got to get back to that,” Law said, and he does. “Last year was a learning experience. I was trying to play for coach and I had a lot of injuries.”

Mike Woodson, the Hawks’ coach, points to the latter as the cause of that forgettable rookie season. (Law sprained his right wrist in November and again in February.) Said Woodson: “Last year he was hurt, and when a young player gets hurt and misses time you’ve got to go through a month of reprogramming. He was on and off so much he never got in the flow.”

It’s also worth noting that Woodson’s coaching mentors are Bobby Knight and Larry Brown, neither of whom is renowned for patience with younger players. When Law did play extended minutes, he all but forgot about his jump shot for fear of missing one. (When a veteran misses a jumper, the typical coach says, “Oh, he’ll make the next one.” When a rookie misses the same shot, the same coach says, “Get him out of there.”)

“I was in between,” Law said. “The coach says he wants me to be aggressive, but I’d be afraid of being aggressive and making a mistake. … I lost confidence. Some games I could feel it — I didn’t want to miss a shot. And I knew I could always get to the basket, so I tried to do that.”

What made Law special at A&M was his capacity to hurt an opponent either way: Play him tight and he’d drive; back off and he’d nail the trey. He all but abandoned the latter part as a Hawk, more than halving his effectiveness.

And now for the good news: He’s again starting to dance with what made him a lottery pick. He’s thinking less and playing more.

It was Law’s layup with 4.6 seconds left that beat Charlotte on Monday, and he drove again at the end of Wednesday’s game with the Hawks down two. This time Louis Amundson blocked the shot, but even Woodson conceded, “Acie made a great play at the rim.”

Would Law have been so bold a year ago? “Probably not,” he said. “I’m not going to lie. I probably would have passed off.”

Some folks have forgotten about Law. They shouldn’t. His development will be a major consideration as this franchise moves forward. If Law matures quickly, the high-salaried Mike Bibby could be dealt at the trading deadline. Granted, there’s a wide gulf between doing mop-up duty, to which Law was relegated in the playoff series against Boston, and starting at the point for a playoff team, but he’s skilled enough to negotiate it.

“That won’t be the last time we make the playoffs,” said Law, speaking of those seven games against the Celtics. “And, God willing, I’ll be leading the team.”

[AtLaS]

From what posters who've posted on here have said, he's still a little tentative but it's obvious he's definitely playing more aggressive than last season. I think he will eventually get there, I'm still a big Law supporter.

[DrReality]

Good article and it's good he's aware of what happened, how he saw how much he changed when he watched the tapes. Sounded mature. If you think about it someone already has beat you to the punch.

I was thinking about where we were a year ago this time. Still had AJ, Lue, et al. What a huge difference. Now we have a leader, a plan and a lot more confidence.

[crimedog]

Acie made a last second layup in the preseason last year. He outplayed more experienced PGs in the preseason last year.

I'm not saying to ignore what he's done this season, just that coaching leniancy is greater in the preseason than the regular season and Acie very well may have to fear the hook again.

The game is a little different too, Acie still might not be ready.

I certainly hope he is, he did show flashes last season that make me think he'll be better than his numbers indicated. He's going to be pretty important to this team as the backup to a PG come off an injury season.

[TheDude]

acie will be an allstar in this league. no doubt in my mind.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Good article and it's good he's aware of what happened, how he saw how much he changed when he watched the tapes. Sounded mature. If you think about it someone already has beat you to the punch.

I was thinking about where we were a year ago this time. Still had AJ, Lue, et al. What a huge difference. Now we have a leader, a plan and a lot more confidence.

Acie just needs to know who he can beat off the dribble and who he can shoot over. When he has some old man who can barely move ( ie - Sam Cassell ), he should take it right to Cassell on every possession. That's kind of the thing that made Rodney Stuckey so effective last year. When he knew he had a mismatch, he didn't hesitate to try to score on him. Acie needs to develop that mindset, especially when he's out there with most of the 2nd unit.

[exodus]

Acie made a last second layup in the preseason last year. He outplayed more experienced PGs in the preseason last year.

I'm not saying to ignore what he's done this season, just that coaching leniancy is greater in the preseason than the regular season and Acie very well may have to fear the hook again.

The game is a little different too, Acie still might not be ready.

I certainly hope he is, he did show flashes last season that make me think he'll be better than his numbers indicated. He's going to be pretty important to this team as the backup to a PG come off an injury season.

Acie was shooting 48% in november before he got hurt.

[frosgrim]

Acie just needs to know who he can beat off the dribble and who he can shoot over. When he has some old man who can barely move ( ie - Sam Cassell ), he should take it right to Cassell on every possession. That's kind of the thing that made Rodney Stuckey so effective last year. When he knew he had a mismatch, he didn't hesitate to try to score on him. Acie needs to develop that mindset, especially when he's out there with most of the 2nd unit.

Sounds like coaching, or lack of, to me.

[crimedog]

Acie was shooting 48% in november before he got hurt.

Like I said, I think he'll be better than his numbers suggest but 7 games averaging 6-3 isn't enough for me to say that the rest of the season was a fluke.

Its likely he does better, he's got talent, but if his big problem last season was inconsistent minutes that hurt his confidence, I wouldn't use the preseason (and a game winning shot) as my reasoning for why he'll be better.

[exodus]

Like I said, I think he'll be better than his numbers suggest but 7 games averaging 6-3 isn't enough for me to say that the rest of the season was a fluke.

Its likely he does better, he's got talent, but if his big problem last season was inconsistent minutes that hurt his confidence, I wouldn't use the preseason (and a game winning shot) as my reasoning for why he'll be better.

His big problem last year was getting hurt twice and missing extended time as a rookie. Then when he started getting back in the groove he would get a quick hook.

When he got good minutes in the playoffs he produced but then didn't get hardly any time the rest of the series even though Bibby completely sucked.

[crimedog]

His big problem last year was getting hurt twice and missing extended time as a rookie. Then when he started getting back in the groove he would get a quick hook.

When he got good minutes in the playoffs he produced but then didn't get hardly any time the rest of the series even though Bibby completely sucked.

Yeah, and Woody is still the coach. The fact that Acie is getting minutes - playing well in the preseason doesn't mean he won't get the short hook this season.

[exodus]

Yeah, and Woody is still the coach. The fact that Acie is getting minutes - playing well in the preseason doesn't mean he won't get the short hook this season.

I am not getting why you keep mentioning preseason. I sure haven't.

Acie's problems last year were pretty simple. Injuries, Woody and being a rookie. One of those will definitely change, hopefully one more will change too. obviously we are stuck with Woody but he hurts the whole team, not just Acie.

Just look at Horfords first month. He was a train wreck on offense. He couldn't hardly touch the ball without turning it over. He averaged only 8.7 points in 32 minutes per game and shot a dismal 55% from the ft line.

But he was allowed to play through his mistakes because the Hawks didn't have any real alternatives. The only time Horford got pulled was when he was in foul "trouble". Obviously Woody's definition of foul trouble is different from the rest of the league but that is a different story. But since Horford never had to look over his shoulder it helped his game.

Hopefully Woody will have no choice but to play Acie this year. We know Speedy will be hurt and Bibby seems to be getting somewhat injury prone too.