One Last Shot: Jordan's Final Chapter.

[georgiafan]

Look at Steve Francis being in the top 10 in blocks and assits…. love seeing the names of the players from my youth..... Bring Back Gheorghe Muresean

[RMJH4]

Around the NBA - October 2001

October 31st, 2001 | by slammagazine.com

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We've had the first Kobe - MJ matchup this year and it didn't disappoint. Kobe and MJ had 28 points each, but the younger Kobe got his Lakers the win on the night. Speaking of Jordan, the Wizards are at .500 for the season so far. They had a good win over the Kings the other night, but the Kings haven't exactly set the league on fire this year so far.

The Wizards have had a rollercoaster season so far, and it seems that could be the story of the season for them. They have had great performances from their veterans like Jordan, Ewing and particularly Chris Mullin. Mully has set the league on fire in the last week with his three point shooting. The Wizards are shooting and making more threes than any other team in the NBA at the moment. Lets see if that continues. A tough November lies ahead for them.

Likewise the Lakers who seem to be a little hungover from the NBA finals against the Pacers last season. You'd imagine that the Zen Master will get them back to the dominant team they are shortly. They are tied for 5th in the West with a few contenders like the Spurs and Kings. The Rockets are taking advantage early on an leading the way at 6-2 behind great play form Francis and Mobley.

The Youthful Memphis Grizzlies are settling in well in their new city, with rookies Pau Gasol and Shane Battier leading the way in their resurgence. Wouldn't it be amazingly ironic if the Grizz finally get a good team the second they leave Vancouver? Gasol is looking like the best rookie in league already, have a look below at his impressive numbers. Two more big suprises from rookies have been Warriors guard Gulbert Arenas who was drafted 31st overall. He has been extremely good for the Warriors who are stacked on offense, but can't defend a lick.

The Trailblazers seem to have hit on a good one in Zach Randolph, picked #19. Randolph has no easy time earning playing minutes with Rasheed, Dale Davis, Shawn Kemp and Chris Dudley already in the frontcourt. But Randolph has muscled his way in to earn almost 22 minutes a game, which could make a few guys expendable for the Blazers as they look to contend again this season.

The biggest surprise though has to be the #1 pick Kwame Brown, who until a few days ago hadn't scored, then he grabbed two double-doubles in a row! It could be a slow development for the High Schooler, and the big question is, will MJ be patient with him?

In other news, it looks like the Seattle Supersonics are about to be sold to Starbucks Mogul Howard Schultz. In what is being deemed as a great move for the Sonics future, Schultz has been a lifetime fan and will invest heavily in the franchise. The Sonics have not started well this season and Schultz may have a thing or two to say about the makeup of the teams roster. There is a lot of money committed to Gary Payton and Vin Baker this year and next, and if the Sonics don't improve soon, it may be time to move on from them.

On Tuesday, following an article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, which mentioned at least four trade possibilities, Payton told reporters he would only welcome a trade to a winning team, which may be a tall order. Seattle likely would not accept anything less than a star player in return and a contender interested in Payton's all-around but eroding skills may not be willing to break up its nucleus.

Possible trade scenarios reported by the Post-Intelligencer included getting forward Marcus Camby, guards Allan Houston and Chris Childs and a draft pick from the New York Knicks; guard Sam Cassell, forward Tim Thomas and a future No. 1 pick from Milwaukee; guard Baron Davis and forward Derrick Coleman from Charlotte.

"If I'm going to be traded I want to go to a team that's winning and that I'm going to feel comfortable with," Payton said Tuesday after practice. "I'm not going to anybody. I don't care about that. Like I've told people, it's good to be here but if (a trade happens) I'm not going to cry about it. I'm going to take it in stride."

We prefer the idea of Payton - Stoudemire Swap with the Blazers ourself, but we don't make the big decision. Also in the trade winds this month are Chicago guard/ forward Ron Artest. Although the Bulls are playing well and are off to a 4-1 start, Artest has a bit of an attitude issue and is not happy with the offense running through the newly drafted post tandem of Curry and Chandler. But winning fixes everything. Keep your eyes out in your local newsagent for Novembers edition of Slam Magazine.

[RMJH4]

Hamilton and Jordan scorch Suns for 45.

November 1st, 2001 | by NBA.COM

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Rip Hamilton and Michael Jordan can be a fearsome duo when they both get it going at the same time. It hasn't happened often, but unfortunately for the Suns, tonight it happened. Hamilton hit 23 points on 8-18 shooting, and 2-6 three pointers. His relentless running off screens, and playing give and go's with his post players was impossible to slow down.

Jordan fed off the attention that Hamilton was drawing and spotted and posted up time and again. Jordan hit 8-15 from the field, and his impressive three point shooting continued hitting 3-6 from deep. The Wizards toned the three's down a bit tonight, only shooting 18. It was in the post the Wiz did most of the damage. Laettner was very effective in the high post, scoring, rebounding and assisting at a high clip.

Ewing and Brown also chipped in with solid statlines. Both almost grabbed double double's aswell. Tsaklaidis and Voskuhl were totally outmatched down low. Chris Whitney's 10 assists were a high point again, despite not scoring, Whitney kept the ball moving and got the Wizards offence running all night.

The Sun were not willing to fall away though, as Stephon Marbury fought hard all night long. His 21 points were a team high. Whitney and Lue couldn't stop him driving the lane as he constantly crossed them up and beat them off the dribble.

Shawn Marion and Dan Majerle were the best of the rest, but Jordan and Hamilton kept them both very quiet. The Wizards two wing men are becoming a good defensive tandem nightly. It's lucky because the Wizards are leaking points from the top of the key and in the post.

Dan Majerle had a chance to cut the lead to 1 point at the end with a three, but Jordan got a hand on it to deflect it just right of the cylinder. A final reminder that Jordan gives nothing easy up. The Wizards picked up the win at the MCI Center, their second home win of the season.

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[RMJH4]

Mullin and Laettner lead Wizards as Jordan sprains ankle.

November 3rd, 2001 | by NBA.COM

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[RMJH4]

Carter wins the fight, Jordan wins the battle.

November 5th, 2001 | by NBA.COM

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Michael Jordan was not to be outjumped tonight, turning back the clock for a vicious two handed jam over Carter early on. Jordan played through a sprained ankle, and his scoring took a major hit. He still found a way to lead his troops to victory though, 6 assists and tough defense were the keys.

Vince Carter came out all guns blazing, shooting from every spot on the court, especially when he was matched up on Jordan. Rip Hamilton had a tough time containing his strength and speed. His 4-9 shooting from three would normally be enough to drag the Raptors to a win, but the Wizards post players had other ideas.

Patrick Ewing and Hakeem Olajuwon had a throwback matchup. It was refreshing to see both teams throw the ball into their hall of fame centers and let them go to work. Ewing just edged the battle, with 14 points, 14 rebounds and 2 blocks. He barely outfought Hakeem who finished with 14 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists. What probably tilted the matchup in Ewings favour was the help he received from Christian Laettner.

Laettner hit a double- double of his own with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Kwame Brown did a little of everything, and hopefully learned a lot from watching the Ewing vs Hakeem battle. This matchup was in the end decided by the benches. The Wizards got a little scoring from 6th man Courtney Alexander who rarely shows up. He was aided by Brown and Lue.

The Raptors bench was pretty poor with most players only scoring once or twice all night. The Wizards escape with a good 8 point victory, which shows how far their defense has come in the last few weeks. Keeping Toronto to 81 points is a great starting place.

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[trekfan]

Oh, Jordan with an ankle sprain could doom the Wizards -- let's hope he's not out long.



Good set of wins against the Suns and Cavs respectively, both close. Nice win against the Raptors too, great to see a throwback battle between Ewing and Hakeem.

[RMJH4]

Jordans Wizards win 3 more to extend streak to 8.

November 12th, 2001 | by NBA.COM

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The Wizards have reeled off three more impressive wins this week, over the Mavs, Lakers and Hawks. Despite Jordan hobbling with a sprained ankle, he did enough to help lead his team to some improbable victories. His scoring took a hit, but Rip Hamilton stepped up against the Mavericks. Although only scoring 14 Hamilton led the attack on an out of sorts Mavericks, who haven't really adjusted to losing Juwan Howard in free agency. Having Dirk Nowitzki out too gave the Wizards a great opportunity.

Chris Mullin was also back on track after having a few quiet games. The big game of the week was undoubtedly against the Lakers. The Wizards ground out a narrow victory in MCI against a Lakers team who were playing a back to back game on the road. Laettner led the team with 17 points, and Rip Hamilton stayed on the attack all night. Ewing, Brown and White did their best to slow down Shaq, but it was the Lakers lack of help from everyone not name Kobe or Shaq that was eventually their downfall. Without their little general Fisher, they didn't have a third reliable scorer.

The final Wizards game of the week was against the Hawks and newly acquired Shareef Abdur-Rahim. Reef was unstoppable, but the Hawks did little to nothing to support him, Emmanuel Davis and Nazr Mohammed were the only other players to score in double figures. Jason Terry is usually good for 20 plus points but he injured his knee in warmups and didn't play. In contrast the Wizards had 5 players, with Rip Hamilton soaring with 28 points. Jordan who seemed a little more fluent hit 17, with Christian Laettner and Chris Mulin scoring 15 a piece.

What we learned this week is that the Wizards are a darn good team when locked in. They can play post centric or permiter centric when they need, or go super tough and grind it out with defense. Jordan has 2 more days off before the Kings visit Washington to get his ankle right. A minutes restriction at the moment is working out well for the Wizards who are learning how to play without Jordan on the floor at all times. When you have veteran leadership with the likes of Ewing, Mullin and Laettner to lean on, the whole team grows.

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[RMJH4]

Quote: Originally Posted by georgiafan

Look at Steve Francis being in the top 10 in blocks and assits…. love seeing the names of the players from my youth..... Bring Back Gheorghe Muresean

Yea I didn't even spot that! No surprises there! Wish I could, love this era when big guys ruled!