We interrupt your regularly scheduled Amare Stoudemire to the Warriors and Masala Curry madness to take a look at the Warriors new young point guard who has been on the squad for less than a week.
Kids don't try this at home!
Jump for everything you ever wanted to know about Acie Law and more.
Acie Law looks forward to playing for Warriors [Bay Area News Group]
"Atlanta didn't work out the way I wanted it to," said Law, who was at the Warriors' downtown facility taking his physical to complete the trade that brought him and Speedy Claxton to Oakland for guard Jamal Crawford. "I think this is a fresh start. I think this style of play suits my game."
One small problem. Golden State already has four guys on the roster who can or will serve as point guards.
Monta Ellis is penciled in as the starter, with rookie Stephen Curry as the backup. C.J. Watson is a restricted free agent, meaning the Warriors have the right to match any offer he receives. General Manager Larry Riley is a big fan of Watson and said before the draft that whoever was brought in would have to beat him out. And Marco Belinelli played his best basketball last season at point guard before getting hurt.
So, on paper, it seems Law has walked into an even worse situation. (Not to mention rumors that Claxton will try to make a comeback.)
I will be SHOCKED if Law makes the rotation next season. I will be equally SHOCKED if Law stays on the Warriors for more than one season.
Also Speedy's making a comeback? Can Dale Davis make a comeback too?
Pretty please!
Warriors bring in Law [SFGate]
General manager Larry Riley and coach Don Nelson saw quite a bit of Law when he was at Texas A&M, and they liked his ability. Law was the No. 11 overall pick - the first senior chosen - in 2007, but he consistently sat behind Mike Bibby and then Flip Murray in two seasons with Atlanta.
"I'm excited about the fresh start," Law said. "Atlanta didn't work out the way I wanted it to, and I think this style of play suits my game."
Is it a style of play issue? Hey, it could be (although I doubt it). Hawks Coach Mike Woodson stressed a slowdown defensive oriented game which is in stark contrast to good ol' Nellieball.
Speaking of Law's game...
Acie Law's Hollinger Player Profile - ESPN
2007-08 season: Here's one Law that doesn't have long arms -- he didn't block a shot all season and had the fifth-worst rebound rate in basketball. What vexed the Hawks more was his inability to score. Law shot only 40.1 percent, made just seven 3-pointers the entire season, and had a below-average free-throw rate; in addition he was almost as bad on long 2-pointers (31.5 percent) as he was on 3s. All told he was 65th among the league's 71 point guards in TS%. That's particularly damning in his case because he was drafted more as a scorer than a passer. Law's pure point rating was in the bottom quarter of point guards and his turnover ratio in particular was way too high for a secondary player. Take it all together and he had the third-worst PER at his position -- not the kind of impact the Hawks were hoping to get from a 22-year-old rookie who, theoretically, should have been in position to contribute more quickly than other first-rounders. To add insult to injury, he was selected one spot ahead of Thaddeus Young and four ahead of Rodney Stuckey -- a final sendoff to Hawks fans from departed GM Billy Knight.
Scouting report: While Law's rookie year was disastrous, he does have some tools. He's 6-3 and fairly quick for his size, though not a leaper or finisher. Right now his biggest weakness is a reluctance to pull the trigger when he's left open on the perimeter -- something that happened often last year. He shot decently from outside in college, and if he can become a credible pro shooter that should open more driving lanes and allow his offensive game to flourish. Defensively, I've seen worse. Law isn't a great athlete and as a rookie took his lumps on occasion, but he has good size for the point and decent quickness, and in time he should be decent at that end.
I'm not expecting much, but you know the saying- no one expected the unexpected.
Acie Law IV (born January 25, 1985) is an American basketball player at point guard who currently plays for the NBA's Golden State Warriors. In his four seasons at Texas A&M University, Law scored 1,653 points and was credited with 540 assists. Nicknamed "Captain Clutch" for his ability to take over the game late, Law is well known among Aggie basketball fans for "The Shot," his buzzer-beating 3-pointer to beat the arch-rival Texas Longhorns at Reed Arena on March 1, 2006,[1] as well as for his play in the Aggies' stunning 69-66 upset win against Kansas (the only Big 12 South team to win at Allen Fieldhouse) on February 3, 2007. Due to his contributions to Texas A&M, the Texas A&M athletic department decided to hang Law's No. 1 jersey on the rafters in Reed Arena.[2] He became the first Aggie in any sport to have the honor.[3]
Not the 1st, 2nd, or even the 3rd. The 4th!
2008-09 Season Review: Acie Law IV [Hoopinion]
I don't have a strong opinion about Law's potential beyond believing that it's in his best interest to play for another team, another coach rather than remaining stuck in Atlanta as the last example of the dysfunctional relationship between Mike Woodson and Billy Knight. He's played but 1425 minutes across two seasons. That's 12.8 minutes per game, many of them spent playing out of position or running out garbage time. It can't be ignored he hasn't played especially well, but, despite the utter lack of confidence shown in him last season there were some tangible improvements, some reasons to believe beyond the shared anecdotal belief that were Law just to make a higher percentage of shots at and around the basket* he'd approach, at minimum, league-average bench production.
Acie Law Player Profile [NBADraft.net]
Billups was pretty awful his first few seasons in the league, so this is a good comparison in that respect.
Acie Law - 2009 NBA Draft Prospects [ESPN]
Positives: Scoring point guard that has improved in just about every facet of his game. Has an excellent basketball IQ. He's got great size and strength for the position. He's a good floor general who puts his teammates in a position to score and keeps turnovers to a minimum. He's a good slasher to the basket, has an excellent midrange jump shot and has shocked scouts with his improvement from three-point range this year. He's by no means a pure shooter and his mechanics are a little funky, but the ball goes in the basket. His biggest asset is that he's fearless and not afraid to take clutch shots at the end of the game.
Negatives: Law doesn't excel at any one thing. He's a good, but not great, athlete. He's quick, but not super explosive. His ability to get to the basket is based more on a knowledge of angles than on sheer quickness. His jump shot is serviceable, but no one is going to call him a pure shooter. His defense is acceptable, but doesn't stand out.
Oh no. Big red flag. You simply have to excel at something to be a player at this level.
DraftExpressProfile: Acie Law, Stats, Comparisons, and Outlook
Some info via our brother site Peachtree Hoops:
Peachtree Hoops Sizes Up "An opposing team's scout sizes up the Hawks" [Peachtree Hoops]
Backup point guard is another issue. Acie Law didn't produce like they would want as a high draft pick last season. But there were games where he did enough. He beat his man shooting off the dribble, he was good in all kinds of pick-and-roll situations, he got into the paint and he had late-game ability. But Woodson is more of a half-court guy who likes to call every play, and that works against Law, who is a good but not great shooter from the three-point line. Again, I don't see the complication here (and didn't last year, either). Mike Woodson (in my opinion, mistakenly) wants the Hawks to play half-court basketball. He wants to call plays. Acie Law, in a fairly comprehensively disappointing rookie season, showed some ability, despite inconsistent health and playing time, to run the pick-and-roll effectively. I know the Hawks have pick-and-roll sets in the half-court. I've seen them run them. Why is this not a significant part of the offense when Acie Law is on the court leading the second unit? In a couple of weeks, I fear we'll learn that the answer, this year, has a lot to do with Flip Murray dribbling.
The Acie Law Poll [Peachtree Hoops]
What does Acie Law IV need to add to become a serviceable starting point guard?
State of the Hawks point guard [Peachtree Hoops]
Acie Law played really well against the Hornets one game. He gave Chris Paul a good game on the butt in the middle of the second quarter. The one game I remember him starting, the Hawks lost to the Clippers by about 62 points. In the end, he played in one less game this year compared to his rookie season and averaged a full five minutes less on the court per game. He showed a glimmer of hope in his three point shooting, but in the end, Acie barely ever got time with the first team and played a majority of his minutes in mop up duty. At this point, I have no idea if Acie could be a starter in the league, a serviceable back up, or a complete bust. Let's just hope some of those answers come in practice because they certainly were not answered during the 82 game season.
First impressions on the Jamal Crawford trade [Peachtree Hoops]
My initial reaction to this trade was positive. The Hawks traded their junk and got back a legitimate NBA player.
Even on the other coast hoops fans know that Golden State = the NBA's junkyard.
Crawford coming to Hawks [Peachtree Hoops]
Finally, it may not have been possible, but Acie and Speedy appear to be headed into a team who might be more dysfunctional than their previous one.
Nice work Cohan and Rowell!
I'll leave you with this...
Many people claim that Acie Law IV seems to play more like a shooting guard rather than a real point guard. However, Acie himself has been focused on proving them wrong. He wants to improve as an individual player and he wishes to elevate the Hawks' skills as a team. In fact, Acie is both a PG and a SG. Acie Law has great speed and a fantastic body control, which allows him to change movement direction rapidly. He's able to figure out a perfect shooting opportunity for himself or for his teammates who are wide open and wait for his assists. When it comes to controlling the game, he seems to have some kind of a sixth sense. He is a very good perimeter player and he can shoot with his right as well as left hand, surprising players guarding against him. Acie Law handles the ball extremely skillfully he's a good dribbler and he has managed to reduce the number of turnovers per game. He knows what to do in the key moments of the game and he's willing to take over as a team leader when the team's be or not to be is at stake. He's proven that he's able to raise to the occasion and shoot the winning points when his team needs him most. Most importantly, he's been constantly developing his defensive skills.
via ottawainvestmentadvisor.files.wordpress.com
Unfortunately I think I just spent more time assembling this article than Law will spend on the hardwood actually playing next season for the Warriors.