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Reactions: Jordan still dominant? Users weigh in on whether His Airness still has gamePosted: Wednesday October 03, 2001 4:19 PMUpdated: Wednesday October 03, 2001 4:30 PM CNNSI.com's Marty Burns and Jennifer Cooper went head to head on whether Michael Jordan will still reign supreme. Here's what you had to say: I agree with Marty Burns. Jordan is a genius on the floor and how many of you laughed at his last comeback? And said, "See I knew it," when they lost to the Magic in the playoffs. Well he ended up winning three more and I believe was at his best when he left. As for Jennifer Cooper's comment about a single highlight of Allen "victimizing" Jordan with the crossover ... newsflash ... how many titles did Kobe and Allen win when Jordan was in the league, combined? None. Scoring titles? None. Keep talking, all of you ... it just feeds the fire. I believe he'll be better now than ever.
Dear Ms. Cooper: age and endurance?!? Is that all you can come up with to say that MJ won't be able to outperform Kobe, et. al.? Please, please, let's be serious here. I suggest you take your case back to the drawing board and start looking for some real arguments. After a while, you will realize that there are no arguments for you to bring against Jordan. Sure, he's old, but focus on the fact that he won't be playing for championships anymore; it is no longer necessary for him to carry the team over the playoffs and championship rounds. Heck, they probably won't even make it past the first round. The guy is playing for the love of the game, nothing is left to prove, and yet he'll prove you wrong.
I agree with Jennifer. I'm glad he's back, so that many well-meaning people will finally stop being deceived into thinking that Michael is god on the court. Mankind is easily swayed, and they've allowed the media hype surrounding Jordan to create an image in their mind of an invincible, genius athlete that's "back again." Wrong! I'm excited to witness his mortality, and the death of this heroic image in many people's minds. He's a good basketball player, but not even the best ever, regardless of what the media says.
I can't agree with Marty more. Jordan's legacy is his combination of athleticism and knowledge. His body may be a bit slower than in seasons past, but his mind is as sharp as ever. Sure, he may get beaten off the dribble from time to time, but you better believe that he'll force the man with the ball into a fellow Wizard. On offense, he'll showcase his keen sense of teammate position and ability. He won't jump as high as many defenders, but he'll get them off-balance and find the open man. Don't underestimate Jordan's competitive fire. That anger and attitude that we've grown accustomed to expecting was ever-present in Monday's press conference.
Didn't the world learn anything over the past decade? Never underestimate Michael Jordan on the basketball court. You're playing with fire if you do.
Case is, the NBA is a mental game, unless you have an illegal carry, I mean crossover move. Mike still owns every one's head in the league, including Iverson and Carter.
Jordan will still dominate most games with his presence alone. How many games did the Wizards lose last year by six points or less? With Jordan, those are all possible victories. Why do people believe that he should stay retired if he is no longer the best player in the NBA? By that logic, every player in the NBA should retire, except one. The fact that Jordan could come back at 38 and be "one of" the best players is an amazing accomplishment.
No, Jordan won't dominate as he did before; it would be foolish to expect that. But Jennifer Cooper is wrong when she says, "the point is that the NBA's brightest stars...are approaching their primes while Jordan is headed down the other side." Let's let Michael be Michael, at his age, and marvel at what he can do, while remembering what he has done. For sure, he'll be worth watching, and he won't be embarrassed.
Jordan has a superior IQ that some of the younger kids haven't shown. Washington will make its case in the playoffs.
I noticed that Marty Burns mentioned Kobe and Vince when making comparisons to Jordan but made no mention of Iverson. Either he feels that Iverson is not of the same caliber as these two, or understands that Iverson is beyond both of these athletes. I haven't forgotten that just last season other teams were applying the so-called "Jordan Rules" to Iverson, who seems to be entering his prime. I realize that Jordan was perhaps the greatest player of all time, but the "Answer" has stepped up and filled that void and there is no way Jordan is taking that back -- not on 38 year old legs at least.
I think that Michael Jordan will still dominate the game. Young stars like Iverson, Kobe and Vince might beat him in the physical game, but not the mental game. I think that Michael will still do what he has always done and that is to make his teammates play better around him.
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