By Mike Kahn
SportsLine.com Executive Editor
The temptation to go overboard about Michael Jordan is like being served a perfect steak.
The exterior is a little rough, but the further you get into it, the overall quality and lure to see more is irresistible. And that is precisely the way the 2002-2003 season is beginning to look for Jordan and the Washington Wizards.
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| Michael Jordan has raised his game and the Wizards have been a force lately. (AP) |
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At first glance, they were a cured blend of experience and youth, with unmistakable talent the consistent thread. With Jordan announcing this was his last season and Charles Oakley, Bryon Russell and Christian Laettner on board, coach Doug Collins had his veterans with him, those who knew what it was like to battle an entire season and focus on the fundamentals of defense and passing.
With young talent Larry Hughes still to be nurtured, plus last season's top overall pick, Kwame Brown, second-year center Brendan Haywood , and this year's two first-rounders Jared Jeffries and Juan Dixon, there was a future starting five with Hughes the elder statesman at 23.
Tying it all together was the acquisition of Jerry Stackhouse, a poor man's version of Jordan now at All-Star at the age of 28, who was capable of playing with or instead of Jordan. And Tyronn Lue was added as the one pure point guard in the event Hughes, Jordan and Stackhouse couldn't handle the ballhandling load.
They started off well, 6-4, with all eyes on Brown as a blossoming young interior player, the vast potential of Jeffries and Maurice Cheeks-like defense and clutch play of Dixon. Considering how Jordan broke down physically last season and his 40th birthday approaching, he was coming off the bench. The East Coast media machine was wowed by their early act, with many proclaiming them bound for the Eastern Conference finals.
But it was a mirage with the kids. They lost six of seven, Brown began to pout, lose minutes and then get comfortable on the bench. Dixon sprained his elbow the first week of December to be out for at least four weeks, and then by the end of the month, Jeffries tore a ligament in his knee to end his season.
Meanwhile, Jordan returned to the starting lineup, played more minutes and everyone was getting frustrated. And then they bottomed out with a 17-point loss in Orlando on Dec. 30. Tired of losing, Jordan took control, proving for the umpteenth time -- just when you think he's had enough, that supernatural being cranks it up again.
The result is Stackhouse is the beneficiary of great shots, and so is everybody else.
They upset San Antonio at home, went to Chicago for a Jordan homecoming and blew out the Bulls; then Jordan exploded for 41 to upset first-place Indiana. And Monday night, they went into Boston and handled the Celtics.
All of a sudden, the Wizards are back at .500 for the first time since the third week of the season when they were 6-6. At 17-17 following the win in Boston, they are on the verge of climbing back into contention from the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference. They are only a game behind Orlando for seventh, two behind Philadelphia and Orlando and 2 1/2 behind Boston for the fourth spot which comes with it home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Sure, it's premature -- again -- to get excited. But clearly, the Wizards are back on the right track.
"Early in the season, we tried to give the kids a chance to get out there, to understand, to give them some good experience and to lead us in a sense," Jordan said. "Now, we had to make adjustments with the veteran guys and the guys we brought in from trades.
"We've gone with veteran leadership and let the kids catch up to us. I think as of late, it's been working out fine for us."
How long it will last remains to be seen. Just consider the rest of the NBA being warned, as far as Jordan is concerned the season is just beginning.
