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Can Jordan pull off his greatest act of wizardry by carrying this mediocre crew to the postseason?

By Ian Thomsen

Jordan has had to get his game together while also teaching his teammates not to rely on him too much.  Al Tielemans Enemy Lines An opposing team's scout sizes up the Wizards "Center is the Wizards' biggest weakness. Jahidi White is a mountain disguised as a basketball player. He takes up space, players bounce off him, but he can't handle the ball. ... I like Kwame Brown . He's a natural four with a perimeter game, he can put the ball on the floor, he's quick and explosive with a sense of poise, and he has none of the pressure of being the No. 1 pick because the focus is entirely on Michael Jordan . Still, it's going to take three years before he really gets it. The only high school player I can remember playing well as a rookie was Moses Malone. ... Courtney Alexander thinks he's really good. He has to be brought down a peg, but it's easier to do that with a talented guy like Alexander than it is to bring along a guy like Brendan Haywood , who has a reputation for having a poor work ethic. ... Jordan got beat a few times in the preseason because he was trying to help out on defense so much. You look at the old rosters, and he was surrounded by a better team when he came to Chicago as a rookie. But he gives the Wizards a go-to scorer who knows how to win in the last two minutes, and he's going to get calls. Those are qualities you don't usually find in developing teams. The other bubble teams -- Boston, Detroit, Atlanta -- have better players overall, but they don't have anyone who has shown anything like the leadership of Jordan. If he can get this team into the playoffs, it would be like winning a championship with his former team. I think he's going to do it."

Not even in his prime, when he was as explosive as the ejector seat in James Bond's Aston Martin, was Michael Jordan able to win all by himself. Now that he's 38, he's going to need more help than ever.

That's why Jordan isn't going to win a championship with the Wizards: Not only is he ancient by NBA standards, but also none of his teammates are nearly as reliable as Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant or even Dennis Rodman. Yet, given the quantum upgrades in attitude, leadership and talent that his comeback has brought to Washington, he should find enough supporting talent to allow him to qualify for his 14th straight postseason.

Those most likely to aid him are newfound protégés Richard (Rip) Hamilton and Courtney Alexander. Both are shooting guards -- the position Jordan played in his previous NBA lives -- and Jordan, now a small forward, is optimistic that something good will rub off. "They might be the principal guys on offense, you never know," Jordan says. "I'm not so star-crazed that I have to take away from the young guys. At times I'm hoping I can sit back and be an insurance policy for us."

Jordan has gone to great lengths to encourage that line of thinking. After his teammates stood around watching him score 24 points in a preseason loss to Detroit, he refused to shoot during the Wizards' next practice to force them to learn how to get by without relying on him.

Coach Doug Collins is planning to deploy Jordan, Hamilton and Alexander together at times, giving the Wizards an imposing triangle of size and scoring from the perimeter. Even more promising is the hope that playing with Jordan will quickly teach Hamilton and Alexander to compete like him -- to supplement their scoring with the unselfish acts that lead to victory.

Both Alexander and Hamilton feel their young careers were rescued by Jordan. Alexander, a four-year star at Virginia and Fresno State who was the best scorer coming out of the 2000 draft, spent the first half of his rookie year on the Mavericks' bench behind Michael Finley. He was included -- at Jordan's behest -- in the eight-player trade that sent Juwan Howard to Dallas. "When I first found out [Jordan] wanted me here, I had a funny feeling inside," Alexander says. "I have admired the man so much for so long, and to know he had that unbelievable confidence in me made me feel so good."

Alexander averaged 22.4 points last April to earn the league's Rookie of the Month award. As much as he and Hamilton have competed for the starting two spot, they should also complement each other because the versatile Hamilton is blessed with the skills of a point guard. After having been introduced to NBA life by two losing seasons in the Wizards' spiteful locker room, Hamilton is wide-eyed. "I try to absorb as much information from Michael as possible," he says. "His secret is that he attacks every drill, that he doesn't want to lose at anything. Now you see everybody pushing everybody on our team."

It's crucial that Hamilton and Alexander live up to Jordan's expectations as quickly as possible. That trio will have to carry the Wizards because most of the big men are just learning how to play. Center Jahidi White has three years under his belt but remains unskilled. Rookies Etan Thomas (sidelined by a broken toe last year), Brendan Haywood, who's out at least two more weeks with torn ligaments in his left thumb, and 19-year-old Kwame Brown, the first high schooler taken with the first pick in the draft, have never played in an NBA game.

Brown is going to be allowed to develop slowly this year. Jordan hopes that power forward Christian Laettner, who has played for five teams in his nine-year career, will set down roots and establish a sense of leadership for the front line. "He's had a bad rap," Jordan says of the 32-year-old Laettner. "Christian knows how to play."

Collins says that Jordan, while he was Washington's president of basketball operations, stocked the Wizards with enough talent to go 10 deep. That depth will help the Wizards run whenever possible, hoping to exploit their strengths of speed, ball handling and scoring. But the strategy is also born of weakness: Washington must attack before opponents can settle into their half-court defenses. Under the new rules Jordan can be double-teamed away from the ball. "When Michael sits down, that's when we have to execute better," says Collins, raising the biggest concern of all. If Jordan's body can't withstand the 82-game season, then you can retire the Wizards' postseason hopes for this year.

Issue date: October 29, 2001

Click here to look back at CNNSI.com's preseason Wizards preview.