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Comfort zone Collins tries to keep Jordan from wearing himself out
WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) -- Michael Jordan still has the competitive fire that helped him win six NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls. He also has a body that's 38 years old and may not be able to take the punishment it once could. That's where Washington Wizards' head coach Doug Collins comes in. Collins, hired by Michael Jordan the owner, has been the perfect coach to keep Michael Jordan the player from wearing himself out before training camp even ends. "I think he recognizes and respects that I know when he needs a blow and when he needs to push himself a little bit," Collins said Monday after the Wizards' second practice at UNC-Wilmington. "I think that's one of the reasons he asked me to be here -- because he knows that I know how to respond to him." The plan before training camp started on Oct. 2 was to have Jordan participate in just one of the two daily practices. That quickly dissolved once training camp started and Jordan's competitive juices started flowing again. Jordan went hard for the first two days of training camp, showing his coach and teammates glimpses of brilliance. But by the second practice on Thursday, Jordan started showing signs of fatigue. By the weekend he was icing both knees after practices. Since then, Collins has persuaded Jordan to limit the amount of time he spends on the practice floor. Jordan has spent the past few days working with his personal trainer during the morning practices, then scrimmaging with the team in the evening. "My competitive nature is to go out there and give it a try all of the time," Jordan said. "But sometimes my body says to slow it down and take it slow, and he's [Collins] a constant reminder of that." On Monday, Jordan played in the Wizards' two scrimmages in the evening. He played most of the first scrimmage and spent the last half of second scrimmage talking and laughing with Popeye Jones on the bench. "My body's feeling pretty good, actually." Jordan said. "With the one-a-days, I've been feeling a lot fresher. Initially, I thought I had to play catch-up, but I think I've caught up and now he's [Collins] just trying to maintain and work me back in slowly." Besides, "I think he knows what I'm capable of doing," Jordan added with a smile. The Wizards have an open scrimmage Tuesday night. It will be Jordan's first public competition since he retired more than three years ago.
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