1/8/02: Jordan elevates over athletic Clippers

[Gamebreaker]

Some wins would probably help too, I'm guessing. No one really wants to see Jordan's second comeback rewritten so he gets demolished even more.

Maybe so far a bunch of my hits have been from people who hate him, heh.

[Gamebreaker]

washingtoneagle.com


GAME PREVIEW
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

[Gamebreaker]

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

[Gamebreaker]

washingtoneagle.com


GAME PREVIEW
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

[Gamebreaker]

McGrady (literally) destroys Jordan
FULL STORY
Box score

[Cruzerr]

Finally.. about god damn time

Any chance you can trade some of your pieces?

[Andrew]

That's more like it.

[Gamebreaker]

Heh. I just needed to find my legs, man!

Any chance you can trade some of your pieces?

I don't know who would want em, hehe. If the season spirals out of control I'll probably do some deals then.

Warmed my heart when I read that John Hollinger was surprised that no Western conference team traded for Jahidi, just about the only guy in the league who had the mass to match up against Shaq (Hollinger was kinda proven right, since Shaq later said that Jahidi was the toughest guy he ever had to face). But I like him a lot. And who knows how far I can get, he might be really useful in the Finals (which I think Jordan might've been holding out hope for as well).

I've never played with such a non-talented team, and that might be why this is such a challenge. On the other hand, most of these guys aren't really as bad as they've been showing, so wins should show up more frequently.

[rise]

Good game, but 31 offensive rebounds? Really?

[Gamebreaker]

Yeah, that's embarrassing. Although it's kinda a 2000 thing, especially against better rebounding teams. Computer can board like hell if it's behind.

Since I'm undersized and also less athletic at just about every position, I don't know, it probably could happen. And I do get away from playing a hardercore game [give and go get more fouls] here and there.

[Andrew]

It's an issue that's continued in more recent Lives, too. Usually not that bad but the CPU has a tendency to grab three or four offensive boards in a row when it needs to.

[Gamebreaker]

It's an issue that's continued in more recent Lives, too. Usually not that bad but the CPU has a tendency to grab three or four offensive boards in a row when it needs to.

I thought a lot of people complained about 2000 in that regard, but in the forums here I didn't see much. I started thinking it was fairly decent, if your shot totals weren't sky high. But yeah, it does seem impossible to box out good enough if the computer needs a second chance.

I know 2001 was supposed to be ridiculous. I thought in a couple of editions later they went the other way, where second chance points were almost nonexistent. 2003?

[Andrew]

There were probably more complaints about it in the old Forum. We launched this Forum around the time NBA Live 2003 came out, so there aren't too many posts on the games before that.

2001 and 2002 were definitely worse as far as the offensive to defensive rebounds ratio is concerned.

[Gamebreaker]

washingtoneagle.com


GAME PREVIEW
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

[Gamebreaker]

Richard Hamilton scores 49... but Jordan has an even better game?
FULL STORY
Box score

[Gamebreaker]

washingtoneagle.com


GAME PREVIEW
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 definely don't need. - Steve Caas

[Gamebreaker]

Malone, Stockton fall against Jordan as Wizards win third in a row
FULL STORY
Box score

[Gamebreaker]

washingtoneagle.com


GAME PREVIEW
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 had three days off, which should be helpful to the thirtysomething contigent 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

[Gamebreaker]

Wizards almost blow a 19 point fourth quarter lead, win fourth in a row
FULL STORY
Box score

[Gamebreaker]

washingtoneagle.com


GAME PREVIEW
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

[Gamebreaker]

Jordan misses gamewinner, Wizards' four game winning streak crumbles
FULL STORY
Box score

[Gamebreaker]

washingtoneagle.com


GAME PREVIEW
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 mlooked to be campaigning for his spot against the Pacers, scoring 18 points on 8 of 12 shooting from the field. - Steve Caas

[Gamebreaker]

Wizards crush 1st place Celtics, Jordan edges Pierce
FULL STORY
Box score

[Cruzerr]

My man, this is going great now. You can surely bring MJ to new hights.

[Gamebreaker]

My man, this is going great now. You can surely bring MJ to new hights.

He'll be dunkin from the three point line!

A 7th championship would be weird. And very tough to get. The best teams are just so high-powered in comparison.