<font class="post"> By Jeff Schultz | Wednesday, November 7, 2007, 11:27 PM The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Jeff Schultz The Hawks gained a measure of stability Wednesday night. After starting three different point guards in the first three games, coach Mike Woodson decided to come back for a second time with Acie Law IV. So much for seniority. As for going against Jason Kidd and Steve Nash in consecutive games — well, you just hoped that the kid wouldn’t need to be peeled off the court by the end of the night, looking like the remains of Ed Gray. “He’s definitely going to have to grow up quick for us to be a great basketball team,” the Hawks’ Joe Johnson said of Law. “We’ve got to play like veterans, and it’s hard for a rookie to do that.” Four games and two starts in, Law looks like a rookie. No great surprise. But he is far closer to forecasting hope than disaster, and for this franchise, that counts for a lot. The Hawks faced the Phoenix Almost-Suns at Philips Arena. They benefited from the absence of Amare Stoudemire (knee). They benefited from terrific outings by Marvin Williams, Josh Smith and Josh Childress. It didn’t matter that Joe Johnson struggled, nor that Law isn’t nearly ready to run an NBA offense. They beat the Suns 105-96. Law survived, and without a medic. “Those guys are great,” he said. And this: “I actually thought I did as pretty good job on Nash, and he still had 34 [points] and 11 [assists].” Nash made seven three-pointers. Every Hawk took turns being humiliated, so don’t pin that on Law. “He’s learning on the fly,” Woodson said. “He has a long way to go, but I feel comfortable having him out there, him being able to make plays not only for himself but for his teammates. Eventually we’re going to see a true point guard.” That’s the idea, anyway. There are growing pains with young teams, no matter the talent. There will be growing pains with the Hawks, especially, because at this time a year ago, their starting point guard was in College Station, Texas, preparing for a non-conference game against Prairie View A&M. The Hawks’ black hole at position No. 1 has been debated ad nauseam. Law believes he can make people forget about Hawks draft decisions like passing on Chris Paul (almost). But he admits this is a different world. At Texas A&M, he was the team’s best player and leading scorer. Generally that enhances a player’s reputation. But because Law is a point guard, some wondered if he could he make players around him better at the NBA level. Law’s development will be the difference between whether this team makes the playoffs or not. Without a competent point guard, a basketball team is like a nice house without running water or power. It looks nice, but it lacks functionality. Law looked good in the opener against Dallas. But at Detroit, Woodson had him on the bench in crunch time, preferring Tyronn Lue. He’s concerned about Law developing bad habits, and then losing confidence. “I saw that happen with Childress and Josh Smith,” he said. “We just threw them out there and they weren’t ready to play. They hit the wall.” Law has recognized his mistakes. At Detroit, he passed up feeding the ball to Johnson, believing he didn’t have a good angle to make the pass. Johnson thought otherwise and had an irritated look on his face when he walked to the bench for a timeout. Law took notice. “I missed him,” he said. “Obviously, he thought he was open. I told him, ‘Man, I’m a rookie. I’m going to make mistakes. I’ll miss you a few times, but stick with me.’ “ Law’s first start came in New Jersey. After the game, Woodson looked at the box score and saw Law with zero assists and Kidd with 12. “I kind of slowed his progress a little bit in Detroit [by not playing him down the stretch],” Woodson said. “But I told him after the [New Jersey] game, ‘You can’t play 25, 26 minutes and not have an assist, and when your counterpart has 12.’ “ Law played another 24 minutes Wednesday. Total: One assist. So we’re not talking Magic yet. “This is only gonna make me better,” he said. “It’s been tough. I’m making a lot of mistakes, but I’m getting better.” </font></p>
Good article. I find it weird Law can't get an assist in 26 minutes. He has guys like Smith, Johnson, Marvin, Horford, it should be easy. With regards to how Law thinks on the court, he will get a lot better. Like he said, he is a rookie.</p> Mike Woodson also needs to make a choice. Start Law for the rest of the year or bring him off the bench. Don't send him mixed messages telling him you're our guy, then starting Lue or Anthony Johnson.</p>
I'm not that concerned with the statistics, watching these four games the team is just that much better when Lue is on the bench and Law is on the floor. That has more to do with how bad Lue is regarding defense</p>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Master Shake)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> Good article. I find it weird Law can't get an assist in 26 minutes. He has guys like Smith, Johnson, Marvin, Horford, it should be easy. With regards to how Law thinks on the court, he will get a lot better. Like he said, he is a rookie.</p> Mike Woodson also needs to make a choice. Start Law for the rest of the year or bring him off the bench. Don't send him mixed messages telling him you're our guy, then starting Lue or Anthony Johnson.</p> </div></p> </p> Well he is a rookie, so if you start him every game he is going to hit the rookie wall by the All Star Break</p>
