Although producing an otherwise solid stat line in his official debut, Jordan commits 6 turnovers and appears anything but otherworldly, especially when it counts. The Wizards look even more woeful than the preseason suggested as they are destroyed by the Camby-less Knicks, 110-88.
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| Michael Jordan had an impressive outing for a 38 year old, but it was a far cry from the Jordan of old. |
WASHINGTON - Maybe this was a bad, bad idea.
Comeback #2 got off to a rocky official start in Madison Square Garden last night, the site of so many Bulls masterpieces back in the 20th century. This time there was no awe-inspiring beauty that left everyone breathless as the final buzzer sounded, but the smoldering wreckage of a horrific car crash.
Michael Jordan had what almost anyone would deem a solid debut in his first game that mattered in over three years -- scoring 21 points, hitting 9 of 18 shots from the field, and tacking on six rebounds and six assists for your consideration to favorably compare him to his former Hall of Fame self.
As Mark Twain once wrote however, there are lies, damned lies, and statistics.
It began as another storybook chapter in his fairytale career. Washington started Jordan at point guard, a move to take away Knick Mark Jackson's ability to post up smaller guards at his position, as well as to give Jordan an easier assignment on the defensive end to conserve his energy. After playing the distributor for the first three plays and the Wizards not making any of their shots, he received a pass from Courtney Alexander as he sliced through the lane, connecting on his first attempt of the Third Coming, as the crowd of New Yorkers roared as if he was wearing a Knicks jersey.
"That was a little bizzare," Jordan said with a dim smile after the game. "I had to look down at my chest to check if I had put on the right uniform.."
The hits kept coming. A couple minutes later the Garden's din almost doubled in decibel level as he scored on his second attempt as well, this time on his signature fadeaway against Jackson in the post to cut the Knicks' lead to 9-8. Then he drove the lane once more to hit his third shot in a row as he was fouled, sending the crowd's intensity somehow even farther into the stratosphere.
Three attempts, three makes.
"I've never seen our fans react like that to a visiting player, it was unreal," Knick forward Lattrell Sprewell said, who scored 20 points, appearing to not endorse the behavior.
What may not surprise many is how little it mattered. Jordan finished with 7 points on 3 of 5 from the field in the first quarter, while the Wizards as a whole were a paltry 6 for 17, with offensive option #2 Richard Hamilton missing his first five shots. Not that Jordan was completely blameless in the poor start, as he also had three turnovers, never looking comfortable in the point guard role. Perhaps it had something to do with all the dropped passes and bricking of easy shots by his teammates.
"He should've had 10 or 12 assists, we missed so many gimmes," head coach Doug Collins chafed. "We make those and it could've been a completely different ballgame."
At any rate, another MJ (Mark Jackson) hit all the clutch shots on this night, two of them -- the first coming as the final buzzer sounded for the opening period, increasing the Knicks' lead to 23-18 and boosting their shooting percentage to 47 percent.
"That felt good," Jackson said. "I knew MJ was headed to the bench for the start of the second quarter, so to increase the lead right before he took a seat, I knew that could only help our chances."
Shockingly the Wizards' subs fared better, cutting the lead to 27-26 early on as their mentor took a breather. Alas, their stand turned out to be an anomolay, as Washington finished the period down by 12, 48-36. They shot even worse (30%), and Jordan missed all four of his shots when he returned, this time as a small forward. Knick backup Charlie Ward took over for Jackson, scoring seven points to match Jackson's first quarter total.
Richard Hamilton finished the half a wretched 1-9 from the field, 2 of 15 for the game (12 pts). As absymal as he was however, Alexander (his backup) was the exact opposite, scoring 10 points in the half, 24 total, hitting on 11 of his 15 attempts. So their contributions averaged out to two relatively decent performances.
Jordan came back for the start of the second half looking feisty, grabbing a defensive rebound and taking it coast-to-coast himself. Once again he hit his first three shots, and Washington whittled the lead down to six. That is, before Mark Jackson hit his second last-second jumper to end the period to make the score 73-65.
"I was just trying to get our fans back on our side, man," he laughed.
The outcome didn't look promising at the beginning of the fourth quarter, as both Alexander and Hamilton got rejected under the rim in two subsequent possessions. Still, the Wizards trimmed the lead back down to eight again, and Jordan came back from his rest early, looking to close.
He couldn't. Instead Knick guard Allan Houston, who had spent most of the game on the bench due to foul trouble, finally got some playing time and scored nine points down the stretch, as New York kept extending their lead until it reached blowout proportions.
"Overall I was basically pleased with my performance," Jordan said. "It's a long road to get back into NBA shape, and this was another early step in that journey. I'm not happy we got blown out, but I knew going in that this is a young team, and there are going to be nights like this."
For a 38 year old who's taken three years off, he was close to extraordinary. But when it came down to clutch time, he committed another two turnovers for a total of six for the evening, and what was way more stunning to see -- only took two shots, looking visibly frustrated as he appeared unable to shake free to score.
"He looks a lot slower," famous Knick fan Spike Lee told a couple reporters. "I was surprised a few of his attempts didn't get blocked when he tried to get into the lane. If Marcus [Camby] had played, he probably wouldn't have shot nearly as well."
And if he is able to somehow turn back the hands of time, to overcome the monumental odds and somewhat replicate a version of himself in his prime again... will it still be enough to erase 22 point deficits? To teams like the Knicks, who many prognisticators believe will be battling the Wizards for one of the lower-tiered playoff seatings in the East, that Washington believes they are now good enough to secure? Who were missing what many would say is their most valuable player?
Looks like it could be a long, long season.
