By Michael Wilbon
The Washington Post
If you’re going to appreciate Michael Jordan this time around, you’ll have to forget about flying from the foul line, switching hands in mid-air and 50-point outbursts.
What we’re seeing evolve now is a Jordan who is part Magic Johnson and part John Stockton. Someone who is as likely to hand out five straight assists as go on a shooting spree.
The Washington Wizards have started this season without Jordan being an acrobat, or making all the big shots, or doing anything otherworldly. While that might not be the best news in the world for the casual fan who is hyped to see IMAX Jordan, it comes as wonderful news to the Wizards that this new incarnation of Jordan – a 38-year-old facilitator – can work pretty darn well.
The record will show that Jordan missed two-thirds of his shots in a recent game against Philadelphia, but handed out nine assists, grabbed six rebounds, and in general set the tone for playing basketball the right way over long stretches of time. Admittedly, these 76ers were not the ones who played in the NBA Finals five months ago. Allen Iverson, Aaron McKie and Eric Snow all sat out because of injuries, leading Dikembe Mutombo to play with Derrick Coleman and a bunch of benchwarmers.
“I had to caution (the other Wizards), Philly didn’t have three of its starters,” Jordan said. “This is kind of misleading to some degree. They had limited offensive capacity.”
And as 76ers coach Larry Brown said, “I’ve got three perimeter players who would never start for us if we had all of our players.”
Even so, there was one stretch of the game when Washington outscored Philly 44-10, when the Wizards seemed to find every open man at the right time in the right spot, set every diagramed screen, and rotate perfectly on defense. With his jump shot still in moth balls, Jordan operated from the top of the floor in Doug Collins’s well-designed offense, and whipped passes around like he had been playing point guard all his life.
“I’m struggling with my jump shot, so I just kept moving the ball,” Jordan said. “When you’re not shooting the ball well there’s other things you can do on the basketball court to help your team.”
Said Collins: “When I had him in Chicago and he was young and on top of the world physically, I never really realized how brilliant his mind was. He’s the most fundamentally sound player to play the game. And so everything he does is with a purpose.”
What Jordan has done is help Richard Hamilton, Chris Whitney, Courtney Alexander and others realize how the game ought to be played. Suddenly, Popeye Jones is always in perfect position to grab a rebound or draw a charging foul. “If everybody’s going to focus on M.J.,” Hamilton said, “go to a spot, hit a jumper … . Get to an open spot and he’ll find you.”
And there won’t be two defenders there because two defenders will be chasing Jordan.
This is hard stuff, what the Wizards are doing. The world’s greatest basketball player is re-inventing himself – again – and his teammates are having to forget about the guy they saw once upon a time and play with the Michael Jordan who is on the court now.
The greatest soloist of all time is now the great facilitator.
If Jordan is forcing defenses to double-team him while missing two-thirds of his shots, imagine the possibilities if he can just make, say, 43 or 44 percent.
“I see (the other players) grasping,” Collins said, “how much fun it is to play that way.”
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