Jordan's impact

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@BATTELLE.ORG>]

Josh O. wrote:

45 wins!  Do you know how hard that is?  It would be a
miracle if they win 35 games.  Aside from Michael,
they have two talented power forwards, one of whom
can't play any defense at all, and the other who is
still learning to play basketball.  They have two
talented young players, Courtney Alexander and Rip
Hamilton, who both play the same position as Michael. 
And that's it.  If you think they're good enough to
win more than half their games leaguewide, you must
really buy into the hype.  Michael at his athletic
peak wasn't good enough to carry a bad team to 43
wins.  Now he'll be lucky if they can avoid the
Eastern basement.  Think about it, Ray.  He's the only
real scorer they have.  Zone defenses are allowed next
year.  He can't defend good perimeter players for
whole games, night in and night out.  And he has
nobody to pick up the slack when he tires out. 
Personally, I think Washington may to better than
people expect, but they won't make the playoffs, and
they won't win 40 games.

----end----


I don't know Josh. I think 45 wins is a little high, but Jordan puts them in
the mix for that last playoff spot, along with Indy, Boston, Atlanta, NJ and
Detroit. Injuries and the other unexpected stuff will decide it.

But I think the Wizards will be helped as much as anyone by the new rules.
There will be times when Jordan, Hamilton and Alexander will be on the floor
at the same time without a true point guard, and that's three good shooters
(Laettner and Kwame Brown also are good shooters). And they can play a sort
of 3-2 zone, with those three guys on the perimeter. You say Jordan's the
only real scorer they have, but Hamilton averaged around 18 points last year
and Alexander averaged over 15 points once he became a starter in
Washington. Laettner and Jahidi White are solid at PF and C. Kwame could be
an impact player by the end of the season. And they have Doug Collins, not
the clueless Leonard Hamilton.

But on top of all that, they have Jordan's competitiveness. Everyone on that
team is going to play better and harder than they ever have before. They're
going to feel like they matter-and that they're playing games that matter.
And in the fourth quarter, when so many NBA games are decided, they have one
of the few guys who can win a game by himself. That's a huge factor.

Are the Wizards a playoff team? I don't know. But they'll be in the mix. The
East is much deeper than it was a year ago. Atlanta, Washington and New
Jersey may be the three most improved teams in the NBA this season. Detroit
will be better. Indiana, with Isiah, is an enigma, but they should be a
playoff lock. The Celtics are in that same mix. It should be fun.

Mark