With summer league play over
(job well done Shelden and Acie,
nabbing All-RMR honors -
and Al Horford might have if he
hadn't hurt his ankle), and
nothing else really going on
until the start of training camp
in October, I thought this would
be a good time to take a look at
the Hawks roster and check out
everyone's status on the team.
It should be a good way to kill
some time over the next few
weeks and help bridge the gap
until the season starts!
Today we continue the series
with veteran point guard
Tyronn Lue. How do you
think these players will do?
Leave your answers in the
comments!
Tyronn
Lue
2007 Stats: 11.4 ppg,
3.6 apg, 35% 3-pt FG, 88% FT
2007 Highlights: T-Lue's
most memorable performance from
2006-07 has to be his
game-winner in OT over
New Jersey on Feb. 4. That
wasn't the only instance of
last-second heroics for the
player they call "The Show" last
season though, as he also
nailed a game-tying runner at
the buzzer against Cleveland
on Nov. 7, forcing overtime in a
game the Hawks eventually won to
move to 4-1 on the season.
What he needs to work on
this summer: Getting
healthy. T-Lue has had injury
issues throughout his career,
and unfortunately had what
started out as a great year
derailed early on last season by
groin issues and a knee problem
that led to arthroscopic surgery
earlier this summer. Lue is off
the court for a few more weeks,
but expects to be ready to go in
time for the start of training
camp.
Lue has always been a reliable perimeter shooter and (in my opinion) an
underrated distributor. Defensively, his best days may be behind him, so the
more he can work on using his experience to overcome speed/height disadvantages,
the better.
Outlook for 2007-08:
Tyronn Lue is well respected in
the Hawks locker room and around
the league (word on the street
is his advice to his boy
Kevin Garnett is what led KG
to approve the trade to Boston).
He is a
veteran presence, a clutch
perimeter shooter, and is
generally the guy who keeps the
team loose with his
nonstop chatter and
story-telling. While incoming PG
Acie Law learns the ropes
of the NBA, the Hawks will be
counting heavily on Lue and
Speedy Claxton to lead the
team. But with Lue also going
into the final year of his
contract, he also figures to be
a target of other teams looking
to upgrade at the one for the
short-term.
