High expectations, disappointed fans
12/05/2001
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Imagine that. Michael's dropping 25 points a night, the Wizards are still losing and everyone on the Washington roster born after 1963 is unhappy.
I'm shocked.
When Michael Jordan announced he was coming out of retirement to suit up for Doug Collins and the lowly Washington Wizards, there were two general schools of thought surrounding his return:
1. Playing more like a point-forward with a scoring touch, Jordan would come in and look to teach and distribute the ball before looking for his own shots, helping the Wizards' young talent develop on their way to 30 or 40 wins in the diluted Eastern Conference.
2. Playing like Michael Jordan, he'd come in and shoot the ball 20-plus times a night, taking valuable court time away from Rip Hamilton and Courtney Alexander, and in the process setting the Wizards organization back a few years.
Well, just over a month into the NBA season it looks like #2 has won the door prize: the Wizards own the second-worst record in the East at 5-12, MJ's averaging 24.5 shot attempts per night -- and hitting only 40% of those -- and Hamilton and Alexander haven't been able to build upon the promise they showed last season.
But while the record is without question disappointing and that field goal percentage is horrendous -- especially considering Jordan is a career 50% shooter -- just how much has his presence this year contributed to the stagnated development of Hamilton and Alexander?
After playing an average of 33 minutes in 27 games with Washington following a late-season trade last year, Alexander has started only two games this season and is on the court for 19 minutes per contest. In those 27 games last year, Alexander, playing in his first NBA season, hoisted nearly 15 field goal attempts a night and shot 45% from the floor while averaging 17 points and three rebounds per game.
With MJ in uniform, though, Alexander's numbers have fallen dramatically: 5.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 6.9 field goal attempts per game. He's shooting 35.6% from the floor and, after hitting 14 of his 36 (38.8%) three-point shots last year in Washington, Alexander is 0-4 from downtown so far this season.
Certainly, the former Fresno State standout has taken several steps back this year, and that's mostly due to Jordan's return. But the 6-6 Alexander sees most of his minutes at the two or three, which is coincidentally where Jordan spends his time. As soon as the un-retirement was official, it became obvious that Alexander would see a drop in court time, so why does everybody -- including Alexander -- seem surprised by these numbers?
As drastically as his teammate's production has suffered this year, though, just how much has Hamilton slipped with Jordan on the floor? Take a look:
Minutes/game (2000-01): 32.3
Minutes/game (2001-02): 34.9
Points/game (2000-01): 18.1
Points/game (2001-02): 18.1
FG attempts/game (2000-01): 16.0
FG attempts/game (2001-02): 14.8
Rebounds/game (2000-01): 3.1
Rebounds/game (2001-02): 4.3
Assists/game (2000-01): 2.9
Assists/game (2001-02): 2.4
FT attempts/game (2000-01): 4.1
FT attempts/game (2001-02): 6.3
FG% (2000-01): .438
FG% (2001-02): .405
3-pt% (2000-01): .274
3-pt% (2001-02): .467
Hmmm. Hamilton is playing more minutes this season, his scoring average is identical to last year's and he's going to the line more often. Losing 1.2 shots per game seems like a minimal drop considering he's now playing alongside a guy who's averaged more than 23 shot attempts per game throughout his NBA career, plus he's pulling down more boards and shooting much better from three-point land.
I'm not saying his numbers haven't suffered with #23 starting every night, but exaggeration apparently is the weapon of choice for all those people whining about Hamilton's stunted growth this year. Simply assuming Rip's scoring average would've soared into the 20s had Jordan stayed upstairs in the front office may be a little too optimistic, but if he were hitting even 43% of his attempts Hamilton could realistically see those numbers this year as the second option in Collins' attack.
In the end, who knows exactly how having The Living Legend lace 'em up every night has affected this team -- through 17 games last season, Washington was 4-13. Would having Alexander instead of Jordan start with Hamilton make these guys more dangerous? Doubtfully -- in the 27 games Alexander played with Washington last year (including 18 starts), the Wizards were an astounding 6-21... . Impressive, huh?
Of course, the Wiz offered us a glimpse of the alternative on Tuesday night when Jordan, suffering from a sore knee, sat on the sidelines for the first time this year, allowing Alexander a chance to start at small forward against the Spurs.
Forty-eight minutes later, Washington walked off the floor with an 88-103 loss. Hamilton led the way with 24 points on 8-14 shooting in 37 minutes while Alexander hit eight of his 17 attempts for 16 points in 34 minutes of action. Both players had four rebounds, two assists and a steal while Alexander was 0-3 from the three-point line.
Sure, this performance was against the Spurs, one of the best in the game, but finally given a chance to sparkle with Jordan in street clothes, Hamilton and Alexander were merely average. Would MJ have been able to lead the Wizards to victory in San Antonio? Probably not. But they would have had a better chance of winning.
Make no mistake about it: Jordan immediately enriches this sorry roster, even when he's shooting 40% from the floor. Everybody knows he leads Washington in points (24.8) and minutes per game (37.7), but he also tops the team leader board in defensive rebounds (5.4), assists (5.0) and steals (1.81), all numbers that fall just short of his career averages of 38.6 minutes, 31.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 2.5 steals.
And as for that atrocious field goal percentage? Sure, it's ugly. But why isn't anybody talking about Vince Carter shooting 41% this year? Or Iverson's .341 percentage? Those numbers aren't far from their mediocre career marks of .457 and .422, respectively. But Jordan's only shot below 46% twice in his career: 1985-86 (45.7%) and 1994-95 (41.1%). Interestingly, in '85 he appeared in just 18 games and in '94 Jordan only saw action in 17 games, which tells us we need to display a little more patience here. A lot of people seem to forget Jordan's only 16 games deep into his 2001 season, and after taking three years off isn't it possible he needs a few more weeks to get back into game shape?
We all have the same highlight reels burned into our memory. The Shot against the Cavs. The soaring, mid-air, hand-switching, gravity-defying lay-up against the Lakers in the Finals. The free-throw-line dunk. The swagger. The smile. The tongue. Man, he was great. The best ever.
But, just an FYI: He's 38 now.
Michael's not the same player he once was, and he hasn't been for a while. Sure, he's a jump shooter now, but he was primarily a jump shooter in 1997-98 when he led the Bulls to their last ring. Remember that? His game-winning bucket over Bryon Russell in the '98 Finals wasn't an awe-inspiring tomahawk dunk at the buzzer. It was...
... A jump shot. Some quick footwork, a little push (read: offensive foul) and... ? A dead-eye jumper.
It's time we file those mental highlights in the archives and realize that, at 38, the greatest player to ever hit the hardwood has lost a step or two, but he's still Michael Jordan. All those baseline moves and crossover jams may now be the property of Carter, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett, but the guy who once dropped 69 points on the Cavs knows how to fill it up.
He's sniffing 40, he's not the same explosive player we remember and he's not winning anymore, so some of you are pleading with him to end this "embarrassment." But Jordan still sells tickets and merchandise, something this sport is in dire need of. He still can dominate like he did on November 16 against Utah, when he hit 17 of his 33 attempts for 44 points and seven boards. And if guys like Courtney Alexander and Rip Hamilton would bury their egos and perk up their ears, he's got plenty of basketball knowledge to pass along to his young teammates.
John Stockton's going to be 40 in March and Karl Malone is 38, and neither is putting up the numbers they did eight or 10 years ago. But they're both still productive NBA players who know what it takes to win in this league.
Give this Jordan guy a chance -- he will be too.
In the Bullz-Eye
The Detroit Lions. After falling 10-13 to the Chicago Bears last week -- their eighth-straight single-digit loss -- the Lions sit at a pitiful 0-11 on the season. And it doesn't get much better for head coach Marty Mornhinweg and his imperfect team, with their next four games coming against Tampa Bay, Minnesota, Pittsburgh and Chicago. Detroit may have some good news on the horizon, though, as they end the season at home against the Dallas Cowboys on January 6, a game originally scheduled for week two but postponed after the events of September 11. No team has gone winless for an entire season since the 1976 expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers but the Lions are a mere five losses away from making some dubious history.