Thrice As Nice
Rookies Al Horford, Acie Law and Mario West gave the Hawks veteran-like production.

By Jon Cooper

It's been said good things happen in threes.

The Atlanta Hawks are firm believers after seeing the output of their rookie class of 2007-08.

The trio, draft picks Al Horford (selected third overall), and Acie Law (the 11th pick) and undrafted free-agent Mario West, didn't have a catchy nickname — although a video entitled "Law and Horford," which showed highlights of the first-rounders accompanied by the music from the popular television show "Law & Order" was entertaining — but they did plenty to catch the eye of the Hawks, and, in turn, their opponents.

"They were huge," said Hawks Head Coach Mike Woodson. "I've had all great rookies over the years. All the guys we've ever coached here have been good guys, but especially this group here. You don't read about them in the papers doing terrible things. They're good guys and they're good to work with. I'd like to see them all come back next season.”

About the only off-court hijinks involving the rookies, was when Law was victimized by a rookie prank involving popcorn and his car.

“I won't give anybody a hard time like that,” said Law, laughing off the incident. “That was Lorenzen Wright. He's no longer here. These guys took it easy on me. I'm going to pretty much do the same for the rookies next year.”

Hawks fans should be excited about next season, especially to see what Horford can do for an encore.

All season long, the 6-10, 245-pound rookie went nose-to-nose with bigger, more experienced centers but never backed down.

"I just tried to use my strengths against guys like that, my quickness," said Horford, whose 9.7 rebounds per game led all rookies and were 13th in the entire NBA.

Playing to his strengths, Horford finished in the top 10 amongst rookies in scoring, field goal percentage, steals, and even assists and was in the top three amongst rookies in blocks per game, steals per game, minutes per game.

Runner-up for T-Mobile NBA Rookie of the Year, Horford was rewarded by being unanimously voted to the T-Mobile NBA All-Rookie First Team, the only rookie to earn such an honor.

In the Playoffs, he got even better. He averaged 12.6 points (up from 10.1 during the season), 10.4 boards (up from 9.7) and 3.6 assists (up from 1.5). He had three double-doubles — two of them in Boston, including a 20-10 effort in his playoff debut — and did it playing against Kevin Garnett. He led all NBA rookies in the playoffs in minutes (39.5), and rebounds and was second in scoring.

"What I did in the playoffs was what I tried to do all year, just try to go out there and play solid and do what I do best," he said. "You really don't know what to expect, so you just come in and you're put in a situation and you have to deal with it."

Horford, who dealt with playing out of position, also handled the grind of a full NBA season, playing in 81 games (the only game he missed was because of a league suspension).

"He never hit a wall, which was the strangest thing I've ever seen, dealing with these rooks," marvelled Woodson. "I truly thought he should have been Rookie of the Year. But, like I told him, that should never distract from the season that he had and don't be satisfied."

Complacency won’t be an issue.

"I'm going to focus this summer on improving my game," said Horford. "I got a chance to go through a season and actually have some success. So I'm motivated."

Law is similarly motivated after only getting to show some of what he could offer.

"Acie Law was huge," said Woodson. "Unfortunately for him, he had some injuries along the way that made his rookie year somewhat of a rollercoaster."

Law was third on the team and fifth among rookies in assists per game (2.0), including a career-high eight helpers in a Feb. 2 win against New Jersey, but a sprained left ankle in mid-November then a sprained right wrist in late February, each cost him 10 games.

He didn't get down, however, using his injured time as an opportunity to learn by observing, especially after the acquisition of Mike Bibby.

"Coming in as a rookie point guard, the toughest position on the floor, it's a lot to learn in such a short period of time," he said. "But when you've got a guy like Mike coming in, who's been doing it really, really well for such a long period of time, it made my training is easier."

Law played in all seven playoff games, and set a career playoff high in Game Two, with 12 points, when he shot perfect four-for-four from the floor and four-for-four from the foul line.

He plans to continue put what he’s seen into practice as he prepares for next season.

"I learned something from every single guy and I want to incorporate that into my game,” he said. “I want to watch a lot of film of the games that I played, and also other teammates and other guys around the league, and try to pick up different moves and different things that guys do as far as spacing on the court and working on my offensive game."

Hard work was what made West an important part of the Hawks’ bench during the 2007-08 season.

The last player added to the roster out of Training Camp, the hard-nosed guard was far from an afterthought in the Hawks' scheme of things, especially when it came to getting a late stop.

"He was always ready," said Woodson. "We started him a game or two that he helped us win."

The Georgia Tech grad, who had walked on at Tech, eventually becoming a starter, earned his way onto the Hawks' summer league team, then earned an invite to Training Camp, then onto the roster. He played in 64 games and made two starts (the Hawks won both.

"It was great," said West, who set personal highs for rebounds (five) and defensive rebounds (four), field goals (three) and points (seven) in Atlanta's Feb. 27th win over Sacramento at Philips Arena. "Obviously, when you come in as a rookie and make the playoffs, and go to seven games with the Boston Celtics, it really doesn't get much better than that.

"I was just glad that I had an opportunity to be a part of it and learn so much from the veteran guys," he added. "The growth that I felt as far as just learning and watching other guys go out there and play their hearts out and deal with the playoff atmosphere, it's priceless."

West was as priceless as a motivator in practice, where, according to Woodson, he pushed teammates. He is eagerly anticipating what another invitation to participate on the Hawks' entry in the Rocky Mountain Revue.

"I'm definitely hoping to be a part of that," said West, who last summer turned down an invitation to play with the Harlem Globetrotters to play with the Hawks during the summer. "I'm looking forward to playing summer league and having that whole experience because that's more game time. Time out there on the court that I really need."

Jon Cooper is a freelance writer based in Atlanta