Verdict: Jordan

[Fall Out Boy]

What did we all think after seing him first hand today?

Personally i think the ability is still there, i couldn't see the difference between the 1993 Jordan and the 2001 version.

The only part of his game that has dropped off is his shooting, he's not shooting at a great clip but i suppose it will take time to get his rhythm back.

What did we think of Joe Johnson? If he continues to get the minutes he's gonna go close in the rookie of the year.

Cheers

 

[ant]

Yep, he didn't have a great arc on his shot today and thus shot poorly, but the ability was still present. He's a few steps slower and of course has lost a bit of elevation, hence he had 3 shots blocked, but overall, he was probably better than I expected. He still had a great night, hopefully he can keep it up for the whole season.

 

[oh_my_hat]

I liked his game although it was strange seeing him have 3 of his shots blocked. I hope with kwame Browne back and a few of the other forwards back that it will make life easier for him on the boards etc. I also hope that Laettner can keep that shooting form up also. I think people are very hard on MJ and he looked fine to me. 32 points is no disgrace particularly when you are getting double teamed time and time again. It was a thrill to see him play again finally.

From CNN/SI

Coming up short

Jordan can't bring Wizards all the way back vs. Celtics
BOSTON (AP) -- Michael Jordan gave Antoine Walker some lessons when they practiced together in Chicago during the summer. On Wednesday night, the student beat the teacher.

Jordan couldn't carry the Washington Wizards during the last seven minutes, and Walker countered his late baskets with two three-point plays as the Boston Celtics won 104-95 in the first of four meetings between the teams.

"He's a good friend of mine, so I got a little bragging rights for Game 1," Walker said. "He's taught me a lot about the game this summer and about life in general."

Jordan had 32 points in 41 minutes, both the most he has had in the five games of his comeback. He also matched his season high with eight rebounds and shot a season-best 12-of-26, but committed five turnovers.

Walker, scoring inside against smaller defenders, had 31 points on 11-of-15 shooting, was 8-of-9 from the line and added 10 rebounds and nine assists.

"You can talk about 'Michael Jordan's a great player,' but don't forget about our guy," Celtics coach Jim O'Brien said. "Don't even ask about Michael Jordan because, in my mind, the best player on the floor tonight was Antoine Walker."



Jordan was instrumental in holding Paul Pierce to 14 points, 14.5 below his average, but Pierce made the big defensive play on Jordan.

With Boston ahead 94-89, Jordan went up for a 16-foot jumper. Pierce blocked it, leading to Joe Johnson's dunk and a 96-89 Boston lead with 2:49 to go.

"I thought that was the play of the game," O'Brien said.

On Washington's previous possession, Jordan drove into three Celtics as his teammates stood around and threw up an airball. He got the rebound but was called for traveling because the shot didn't hit the rim.

"People know how difficult it can be in terms of closing out the final few minutes," Jordan said. "We've got a young team. We're really trying to jell."

Jordan didn't dunk and made most of his baskets on jumpers. But he did provide one crowd-pleasing flashback to his high-flying days.

With Washington trailing 80-78, Christian Laettner, who had 29 points, missed a jumper. Jordan soared across the lane and grabbed the rebound, hit a baseline jumper and was fouled by Johnson. Jordan made the free throw, completing an 11-0 run that gave the Wizards their last lead, 81-80 with 7:16 left.

"I kind of figured you guys would pick out that play because you haven't seen me jump in a while," Jordan told reporters.

Walker followed with a three-point play, giving the Celtics an 83-81 lead.

"I've never seen Antoine in better shape," Washington coach Doug Collins said. "We couldn't stop him."

With 3:53 left, Jordan hit a jumper over Pierce, tying the game at 89. But Walker responded with another three-point play on which he was fouled by Jordan.

"He continues to improve," Jordan said. "I've tried giving him advice on shooting easy shots and getting to the free throw line, things of that nature. He rebounds, passes and continues to make his teammates better with all the right tools."

He had plenty of help on a team that usually relies on the scoring of Walker and Pierce. Kenny Anderson had 17 points, Johnson 16 points and 10 rebounds and Erick Strickland 10 points.

The closest Washington came in the last two minutes was 98-94 on Chris Whitney's 3-pointer with 1:04 remaining, but Walker scored the next six points.

That made Jordan's free throw with 23 seconds to play meaningful only because it allowed him to pass his previous season high of 31.

In the fifth game of his last comeback in 1995, after he played minor league baseball, Jordan scored 55 points against New York.

Notes: Boston guard Eric Williams missed his second consecutive game with tendinitis in his left knee after starting the first three games. ... For Washington, Kwame Brown, the top pick in this year's draft, and Etan Thomas, the No. 12 choice last year, were not with the team. Brown has a sprained right ankle and Thomas has a sinus infection. ... The Celtics rotated defenders on Jordan in the first half, using Johnson, Pierce and Strickland, but Jordan still had 16 of Washington's 42 points.


Michael Jordan's shot might be off, but he's not that far off his performances from his previous comeback in 1995.

Jordan scored 19 points against the Knicks last Tuesday in his opener in the Garden, the same amount he scored in his '95 debut against the Pacers. He's scored 31, 20 and 19 points, respectively, in his past three games this season, through Monday. In '95, he failed to score more than 32 points in each of his first four games.

The difference, of course, is that in his fifth game in '95 he exploded for 55 points against the Knicks. Even with three days off before his next game, Wednesday at Boston, it will be a miracle if Jordan can duplicate that performance this time around. For one thing, it looks like that knee tendinitis that plagued him during the summer might be bothering him more than he's letting on.

It should be noted, also, that even after MJ's "double nickel" in '95, he continued to struggle to find his usual rhythm. He didn't score more than 23 points in five of his next 12 games. Then he got stripped by the Magic's Nick Anderson in the playoffs, fueling his motivation to come back stronger the following year.




Shaq showing true leadership
Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal seems determined to lead his team to another NBA title. He showed up in good shape for training camp, even though he had surgery on his toe. Then he said he was going to help teammate Kobe Bryant win the MVP Award. Now he's even hitting his free throws. As of Monday, he was shooting 66.6 percent from the line this season, including a stunning 16-of-18 performance Saturday against the Suns. Little wonder L.A. is off to a 4-0 start.

Putting the 'D' back in Detroit
New Pistons head coach Rick Carlisle made improving the team's porous defense his top priority during training camp and the work appears to be paying off. Through Monday, the Pistons (3-1) were holding foes to an average of 85 points. The additions of 6-foot-11 veteran Cliff Robinson and 7-footer Zeljko Rebraca have given Detroit some much-needed size down low, while Ben Wallace has continued to set a fierce tone with his high-energy play.

Take that!
Playing his first game against his former team since a July trade, Spurs veteran guard Steve Smith scored 36 points to lead his team to a 106-90 win Saturday at Portland. Smith made all eight of his 3-pointers, tying an NBA record for three-pointers made without a miss, joining Utah's Jeff Hornacek and Seattle's Sam Perkins. "That was sweet," said Smith, who demanded a trade this summer after Portland GM Bob Whitsitt refused to give him a two-year contract extension. Smith's Spurs were 2-2 through Monday, while the Blazers were 1-3.

Ten years and counting for Magic
Wednesday marks the 10th anniversary of Magic Johnson's stunning announcement that he had contracted the AIDS virus. While the disease ended his playing career, it hasn't stopped him from continuing to live a full and rich life. In addition to being part-owner of the Lakers and involved in several business ventures, Magic, 42, still plays pickup basketball nearly every day at UCLA. He had a triple-double in a summer league game last year, holding his own against several NBA players.





An opposing team's assistant coach gives the lowdown on Pacers rookie point guard Jamaal Tinsley, the former Iowa State standout now starting for Indiana:

"It's early yet, but he's off to a great start. We knew he had terrific ball skills, could push the ball up court, was aggressive, and made good decisions on the break. The question was how well he could shoot, and whether he was disciplined enough to run an NBA team. He had a pretty high turnover ratio in college, but it might have been misleading. In the games I saw, he took a lot of chances. Sometimes college kids aren't gifted enough athletically to play with a guy like Tinsley. He might be better in the NBA because the athletes here can finish his plays. Defensively, he's got good instincts, he's quick and he's big enough (6-foot-3) to defend guys like Jason Kidd and Gary Payton. Playing for Isiah Thomas is only going to help his development."

 

[jod23]

I saw the game and i thought he was great..his leap isnt as much as it was and he is a little slower but apart from that he looks just the same. Once he gets right into the swing of things and finds his jumper he will be awesome again.

The commentators were pissing me off though how they just kept talking about the negatives of his game instead of the fact that he scored 32 grabbed 8 boards and held one of the best offensive weapons in the game today in Paul Pierce to just 14 points.

Jordan will no doubt make All D first team.

Its good to see though, Boston are quality and the Wizards were right there at the end to win the game, this time they lost but if they get themselves into positions like that every game there going to win some and maybe enough to shatch a playoff spot..

 

[Longboysfan]

Great. Mr. Mike is an All Star .....

What he should be doing is getting the team to play better as a group.
Not him make all defensive player in the NBA. Or whatever.

His sole reason for playing should be in a more teacher on the court role and aka Larry Bird..... Make everyone better by passing the ball.
Not missing 14 shots in a row.

Then and only then is the comeback worth while.

He'll be done in 2 years and the wizzards will still in the same fix. Not player moving to the front to take over the team.
No team play because of the past two years under Mike.

Talk about a franchise that needs to be folded.

 

[coxon]

Originally posted by Longboysfan
Great. Mr. Mike is an All Star .....

What he should be doing is getting the team to play better as a group.
Not him make all defensive player in the NBA. Or whatever.

His sole reason for playing should be in a more teacher on the court role and aka Larry Bird..... Make everyone better by passing the ball.
Not missing 14 shots in a row.

Then and only then is the comeback worth while.

He'll be done in 2 years and the wizzards will still in the same fix. Not player moving to the front to take over the team.
No team play because of the past two years under Mike.

Talk about a franchise that needs to be folded.

u bring up the name of larry bird in a player/teaching role...
larry's final cuppla seasons were injury riddled, yet he still had the luxury of having team mates with the names of dee brown, brian shaw, kevin gamble, reggie lewis, ed pickney... (all young, and in or reaching their prime)

as well he had two little known bit players: mchale & parish in the team...

mate..its only 7 games into the season..
who says he's not being a teacher?
i'm sure his influence is extremely positive for the young wizards..
hamilton is scoring & shooting very well, as is a former crap player chris whitney...

really, apart from hamilton (and sometimes L8ner).. the team really sucks...

after 7 games.. he's leading the team in assists.. with 4.6...
give another few months or so, i'm sure this will be upped, once the youngsters start playing better..