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Home > Mark Bradley > Archives > 2008 > October > 16 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USAcie Law fearless once again
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.”
Permalink | Comments (25) | Post your comment | Categories: Hawks/NBA
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By The Grinch
October 16, 2008 8:41 PM | Link to this
Sweet. I’d LOVE to see him step up and take control. And oh, my do I wish NBA salaries weren’t guaranteed; Speedy Claxton needs to be arrested and pilloried in Olympic Centennial Park.
By ant banks
October 16, 2008 8:50 PM | Link to this
mark bradley and grinch i have been sayin’ this all along…woodson was stiflin’ laws’ development. i had seen him play the yr before and he was a killa’ on the court. i am glad that he got his mojo back, hopefully woody let’s him keep it.
rondo was a perfect example of stayin’ with a rookie pg. they let him play thru the mistakes.
tony parker was another example. i think that law, if given the chance can be CAPTAIN CLUTCH to the rescue.
By AggieMan
October 16, 2008 9:22 PM | Link to this
I watched Acie for four years at A&M. I’ve been a Spurs fan all my life but he makes me cheer for the Hawks. Let’s just say that when Acie get’s clicking, with Horford having his back, the Hawks will be a team to be reckoned with. And if they’re playing the Spurs, I might just have to go for my fellow Aggie. Gig ‘em Acie!
By ray
October 16, 2008 9:54 PM | Link to this
Nice article. Bibby’s gone. Acie plays like this and Flip backing him up? Bibby’s gone…
By Dan
October 16, 2008 10:36 PM | Link to this
Mark
I can’t believe you wrote an article about the Hawks and didn’t mention that they should have drafted Chris Paul! Unreal! Sounds as if you actually watched a game and got some new material. Congrats!
Also, you have done nothing but rip this team for years now. Don’t go jumping on the bandwagon now.
By rms
October 16, 2008 11:11 PM | Link to this
I knew it! Woodson was killing those young guys last year. Maybe Law will pull a D. Williams. U know he struggled in his rookie year for the Jazz too! If he can become Mr. Clutch and boost up his scoring and assist numbers maybe we can pull of a deal and get that center we need from a team like Portland or somebody else. Then all that CP3 and D. Williams talk will go away since we got our guy too.
By ant banks
October 16, 2008 11:26 PM | Link to this
dan they should have drafted chris paul and the hawks have sucked for atleast 5 yrs now. what else could mark write?
By Dr. Warren
October 17, 2008 12:01 AM | Link to this
What we really need, Mark, is an article in which Woodson comes clean about how frequently—read: almost always—he tightened up for fear of being fired and made this team play such a deliberate, half-court game that didn’t harness their young talent. The 3 wins at Boston belied how wrong he’d been during the season. It’s a shame when your 23-year-old point guard shows you up in the “taking responsibility” department…
By Dr. Warren
October 17, 2008 12:09 AM | Link to this
Meant to say “against” Boston, not “at Boston.”
By Najeh Davenpoop
October 17, 2008 1:13 AM | Link to this
I agree with ant — Woody is the reason Acie was playing timid last year. Acie is a smart enough player (from everything he showed in college) that if Woody backed off and let him run the show for a little while, at least in the preseason, it would do a lot for his confidence. In any case it’s pretty obvious looking at the Hawks’ payroll situation that Bibby is not a long-term solution for this team, so Woody better give Acie plenty of minutes to show what he can do and improve.
I was a huge Acie fan when he was in college (as Bradley apparently is too) and I’m pretty confident that if the Celtics can win a championship with Rajon Rondo at point guard, the Hawks can at least contend for a playoff spot with Acie getting significant minutes. There’s no excuse for Acie’s development to get stifled this year.
By PD
October 17, 2008 7:09 AM | Link to this
Nice article Mark! Finally no mention of Chris Paul!
By Bailer
October 17, 2008 8:49 AM | Link to this
here is a little something to chyew on, MIKE VICK TO PLAY POINT, he would be the MAN
By Bailer
October 17, 2008 8:49 AM | Link to this
here is a little something to chyew on, MIKE VICK TO PLAY POINT, he would be the MAN
By Bubba
October 17, 2008 9:00 AM | Link to this
Playing with fear in the NBA is tough. So is coaching. You work so hard to play not to lose that you forget how to play to win. Perfect example is Mike Smith. The Falcons had no expectations of winning, so there was no point in playing not to lose.
Woodson was a first-time head coach and works for an ownership group that puts the “fun” in dysfunctional.. Law was expected to be a stalwart on a rudderless team. Mike Bibby and Al Horford showed what can happen when people can get their brains out of the way and just play.
I think an example of confidence will go a long way towards helping this team develop.
By Bad Brad
October 17, 2008 9:09 AM | Link to this
Acie’s good an’ e’rythang, but if they’da drafted Chris Paul they woulda won 55 games last year.
By bigeasy830
October 17, 2008 10:36 AM | Link to this
Acie wasn’t ready to run a NBA team last year. Point Guard is the most difficult position to make the tansition to the NBA. I am glad he has confidence and has improved, hopefully it will carry over into the regular season. I will not criticize Coach Woodson unless we win less than 45 games this season. Coach Woodsoon became coach of the Hawks with basically a College roster. Most of the players that were on the team over the last 4 years still had college eligibility. Now that the players have matured we will see if Coach Woodson can really lead a team. I think he can, the man did a great job last year in the Boston series. A healthy Mike Bibby to go along with a stud Joe Johnson along with the rest of the young a very talented roster we are going to be very good this year. I will see you all on opening night at teh Highlight Factory, I will definitely be there.
By MsDee
October 17, 2008 11:39 AM | Link to this
Well, I think we all know how Woodson is when it comes to rookies and new comers..he NEVER gives them a try in the big league to test their strenghs and weaknesses. Now, of course, Horford is an exception. But players like Acie, Salim (which who never seem to get out of the rookie stage where Woodson was concern), Marvin his rookie season, Solomon, and now new comer RandMo. RandMo will have to just learn, wait, and be patient just like the rest of them after this season as long as Woodson is leading the team.
By Mark Bradley
October 17, 2008 11:55 AM | Link to this
Injuries made it tough for Acie last season, but injuries weren’t the whole story. He, for whatever reason, just wasn’t himself on the floor.
By Darrin "The Vent King"
October 17, 2008 2:45 PM | Link to this
I met Acie Law’s father after the 1st annual Hawk’s open practice last year and I’ll tell you what I told him after I asked him where he got that Law Hawk’s jersey so soon and he informed me he was Acie’s father- “I’m glad Acie is here cause we’ve needed a player with that “dog” in him that Acie has. People are all caught up with the Horford pick but have slept on Law. I saw him play at Texas A&M and dude’s got mad heart and all of Atlanta will be saying the same when he gets it going on the pro-level. I can’t wait and welcome to Atlanta.”
I believe this season is that time…
GO HAWKS!!! GO LAW!!
By Ken
October 17, 2008 3:45 PM | Link to this
That comment about “Woodson learned under Bobby Knight and Larry Brown, so he doesn’t have much patience with young players.” If that is the case then Woodson is definitely the wrong choice for this team. He has made progress, even though we were so bad a few years ago we could only go up. Also it was pointed out that Rajon Rondo and Tony Parker were given a chance to work through their mistakes and they came out okay. Those two are both a lot quicker than Law and get to the basket easily. However Law is hands down a better shooter. And I admit he was playing with handcuffs last season so now we’ll really see what he can do in the league. Bibby definitely should now be in our future plans. As good as he is, he’s already in his 30’s and his body is starting to betray him (do we wanna risk another Speedy Claxton situation?), so why not get a younger point guard to grow with Al and smooth, be it Acie or not.
By Lamont
October 17, 2008 5:00 PM | Link to this
I can’t believe he didn’t mention C. Paul.
By Ryder
October 17, 2008 5:24 PM | Link to this
Horford didn’t have nearly the learning curve that Acie had to deal with and besides, with Woodson’s desperation to reach the playoffs and keep his job, he wasn’t about to entrust that job to a rookie PG.
Here’s another concern going into this year: how soon will Woodson pull out the hook on Acie should he miss a couple of shots right after coming in? He might coach with the same scared mentality and think, “play 7, trust 6” and hinder Law even more.
I know many of the other good PGs have already been discussed, but think about this: Even when Steve Nash came into the league he wasn’t that good playing for Phoenix the first time around. However, it took the right kind of offense to morph him into an MVP.
Not saying that Acie Law will be that good, but if/when Woodson decides to run an offense that caters to this team’s strengths (ie RUNNING!) then it may be easier for Law to mature quickly.
Acie Law is talented and with time will become a great PG. I just fear we won’t see that happen in Atlanta as long as Woodson’s around.
By ray
October 17, 2008 8:04 PM | Link to this
Heh. Mark Bradley doesn’t mention Chris Paul for once and what happens? Half the responding bloggers do it for him…talk about retarded…heh, heh, heh!
Oh, and let’s not be shy, Mark. “Whatever reason” is Woody, and nothing else. Besides injuries, and Law’s injuries weren’t that bad. Simply look at quotes from Wood himself: “when a player is in and out with injuries like that, he needs about a month of reprogramming”. No Woody, you flaming moron, he needs support. If he’s smart, he knows in his mind what he needs to do and can watch others in practice. The only thing he has to get going is his conditioning and his shot. We’re hopeless with this coach….
By Calvin
October 18, 2008 12:25 AM | Link to this
I watched Acie throughout his collegiate career, and that guy is a beast one of the best players ive watched. He was hindered throughout the season last year, mostly due to the ridiculous amount of minutes he played he averaged anywhere from 6-12 minutes a game. and was never allowed to get into a rythem. But from what i have seen over the preseason Law has been his old self again coming through in the clutch and playing like he always has. its good to see him back and i will be rooting for atlanta despite my loyalties to the spurs. Keep it going Law
By Fred B.
October 19, 2008 7:44 PM | Link to this
bigeasy830 i agree…it’s hard to win consistently when you have that many young players on your team but this has to be the year; no more excuses!!! The hawks have to build on that momentum they garnered last year after pushing the Celtics to the limit