Michael Jordan's Final Comeback, Rewritten

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Re: Michael Jordan's Final Comeback, Rewritten

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Golden State (1-4) @ Washington (0-5)

Warriors Update- If there's a must-win in this young season for the Wizards, that has to be it. So far in their 01-02 campaign the Warriors are playing like, well, the Warriors, winning only one of their first five games. Starting forward Antawn Jamison is leading the way with a 20.8ppg scoring average. There doesn't seem to be anyone else in the Wizards starting lineup that can match up with him besides Michael Jordan, who may have problems with Jamison's size advantage.

Wizards Update- The Wiz might need more than one day to recover from the hard loss in Boston. Unfortunately, they don't have it. Some other bright spots to be found in that tough defeat: Richard Hamilton hit over half of his shots in the second half, and Christian Laettner, already almost three rebounds a game above his career average, had a whopping 19 boards. - Steve Caas

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Re: Michael Jordan's Final Comeback, Rewritten

666: Wizards lose sixth game of the season, for their sixth loss in a row, equaling worst streak of Jordan's career

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Re: Michael Jordan's Final Comeback, Rewritten

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Seattle (1-5) @ Washington (0-6)

Sonics Update- Another night at home, another poor team on the schedule -- this is another game the Wiz should do everything in their power to try and win. On top of being only 1-5, the Sonics are finishing up a five game east coast road trip. Discord between Gary Payton (22.6ppg, 9.6ast) and coach Nate McMillan is producing some more waves of those on-again off-again trade rumors.

Wizards Update- As a team, the Wizards are shooting a woeful 37 percent from the field. Luckily Richard Hamilton is beginning to get on track, going 12 of 21 against Golden State, his first game of the year where he made half of his attempts. Rookie Kwame Brown has been cleared to play, but coach Doug Collins says he might give him a couple more games off to make sure his ankle sprain has fully healed. - Steve Caas

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Re: Michael Jordan's Final Comeback, Rewritten

The Real Jordan Returns: MJ powers Wizards to their first win of the season

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Re: Michael Jordan's Final Comeback, Rewritten

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Milwaukee (0-5) @ Washington (1-6)

Bucks Update- Another team the Wiz should be able to beat, thank the heavens. While the Bucks are still an offensive powerhouse with three players averaging over 20 points a game (Glenn Robinson, Ray Allen, and Sam Cassell), as always their defense is where most of their problems lie. New Buck Anthony Mason is not having the impact on the squad that was hoped for, but is still playing well, averaging 12.2 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 4.4 assists.

Wizards Update- Shockingly after practice yesterday Doug Collins said he's been thinking about moving Tyronn Lue back to the bench and reinstating Chris Whitney as the starting guard, citing Lue's lack of experience. He had 17 points and 5 assists against Seattle. Whitney looks as if he's rediscovered his touch since moving to the pine, shooting 47 percent from the field in the last three games. - Steve Caas

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Re: Michael Jordan's Final Comeback, Rewritten

Richard Hamilton scores 49... but Jordan has an even better game?

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Re: Michael Jordan's Final Comeback, Rewritten

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Utah (5-4) @ Washington (2-6)

Jazz Update- It may feel like 1998 all over again, but this ain't the '98 Jazz. Still led my old warhorses Karl Malone (27.7ppg, 9.0 reb) and John Stockton (15.3ppg, 9.0ast) Utah has been suffering under the law of diminishing returns each year since then, their last new low being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in 2000-01. They're barely over .500 now, eeking out an 86-85 win over Atlanta to begin their first east coast trip of the season. But this is always a dangerous team, and of course it's a sure bet that Malone and Stockton don't hold any grudges toward a certain Wizard player who stood in the way of their becoming champions, right?

Wizards Update- Michael Jordan and Doug Collins did not look at the stat sheet before they critiqued Richard Hamilton -- he had eight rebounds and three assists to go with his 49 points, not a bad all-around game for someone with that hot of a hand. Will the friction cause more problems with the team's offensive execution? Because that's something they definitely don't need. - Steve Caas

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Re: Michael Jordan's Final Comeback, Rewritten

Malone, Stockton fall against Jordan as Wizards win third in a row

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Re: Michael Jordan's Final Comeback, Rewritten

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Charlotte (6-3) @ Washington (3-6)

Hornets Update- Charlotte is riding high on a five game winning streak, with third year point guard Baron Davis (19.4pts, 8.8ast) beginning to show he's superstar material. Jamal Mashburn (22.1ppg) should be a tough matchup for Michael Jordan to handle at the small forward position, since he's bigger AND, at this point, faster.

Wizards Update- The Wizards have had three days off, which should be helpful to the thirtysomething contingent of players (Jordan, Christian Laettner, Popeye Jones) they rely on to do a lot of the heavy lifting. The bad news: point guard Tyronn Lue, who had been playing so well, has been moved to the injured list after straining ligaments in his hand in practice. Three point marksmen Hubert Davis has been activated in his place, but coach Doug Collins says Chris Whitney will probably start again. - Steve Caas

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Re: Michael Jordan's Final Comeback, Rewritten

Wizards almost blow a 19 point fourth quarter lead, win fourth in a row

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Re: Michael Jordan's Final Comeback, Rewritten

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Washington (4-6) @ Indiana (10-3)

Pacers Update- The Wizards' four game win streak will be tough to keep going tonight. The Pacers have rocketed out of the gate to a 10-3 start, the third best record in the league. If it's not a young superstar looking for something to prove nipping at Michael Jordan's heels every night, it's some old graybeard rival looking for some payback (in this case, Reggie Miller, 23.1ppg). This could get ugly.

Wizards Update- Richard Hamilton has almost completely righted his ship after his disastrous start, now shooting 41% and averaging 20.4 points a game. Some say he's already the second best midrange shooter in the game, behind Reggie Miller. The Wizards will need him to prove that hypothesis, as well as play some solid defense so he comes out looking like #1 tonight. - Steve Caas

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Re: Michael Jordan's Final Comeback, Rewritten

Jordan misses gamewinner, Wizards' four game winning streak crumbles

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Re: Michael Jordan's Final Comeback, Rewritten

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Boston (9-1) @ Washington (4-7)

Celtics Update- The Celtics are still going strong after since their last meeting with Washington two weeks ago, losing only one game so far in November, a month that's getting a little long in the tooth. Hopefully Pierce-Jordan II is much more exciting than their first matchup, when both looked more like YMCA third-stringers than dueling NBA greats.

Wizards Update- Richard Hamilton had another bad game against Indiana, making only four of seventeen shots. One wonders how long Doug Collins will take Hamilton's offensive unpredictability before taking him out of the starting lineup. Courtney Alexander looked to be campaigning for his spot against the Pacers, scoring 18 points on 8 of 12 shooting from the field. - Steve Caas

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Re: Michael Jordan's Final Comeback, Rewritten

Wizards crush 1st place Celtics, Jordan edges Pierce

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Re: Michael Jordan's Final Comeback, Rewritten

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Washington (5-7) @ Cleveland (7-7)

Cavs Update- So far, so great. Cleveland's .500 record is much better than most prognosticators projected it would be, especially with center Zadrunas Illguaskas still not back in the lineup yet. Led by the blooming talent point guard Andre Miller (17.5ppg, 8.3ast) somehow coach John Lucas is getting it done.

Wizards Update- If Washington can win this game, they'll be only one game under .500. They're 0-5 on the road so far, so perhaps they're due. Wizard center Brendan Haywood was activated from the injured list yesterday, replacing hustling Bobby Simmons on the bench. - Steve Caas