Does Michael Jordan still have it? (1 Viewer)

[Patrick Sun]

Watched bits of the Wizard/Knicks NBA game last night, and from what I can tell, Michael Jordan is still rusty, and can't quite elevate or finish off easy buckets like he used to be able to do. He only shot around 33% from the field, and took way too many 3-pointers. But, his team only lost by a few points, so it's not all bad news.
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[Jon_B]

I think this is why he signed for two years. He knows that he can't turn the wizards around in one year, at least not with the current roster. The fact that they play as well as they do with him is a good sign.

Jon

 

[Bill Buklis]

Does it really matter? But, in all actuality you can't judge his performance merely by the first game. And pre-season games don't count. The intensity level is similar, but still quite different. Give him a month and he'll probably be back to old form. The Wizards, on the other hand, will still be losing - no matter what Jordan's doing.
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[JasonK]

I'm surprised at all the MJ-bashing I've seen in the press lately. ESPN.com had a bunch of quotes from different newspapers really tearing into him.
But there was an interesting stat sheet I saw last night. MJ played almost identically last night as when he came back in '95 against the Pacers. 19 points in both games. He shot 7-21 last night, but 7-28 in '95. The rebounds and assists were one off of each other.
I think as the year goes on and he figures out how the Wizards operate, who he should look to pass to and so on, his stats will improve. He won't be dunking from the free-throw line anytime soon, and the Wizards are nowhere near a championship level team, but they'll get better. But I don't think they'll be in the playoffs. Maybe next year.
I'm curious as to how he plays tomorrow against the Hawks. The Hawks are one of the most improved teams in the East, but MJ won't have the amount of hype surrounding this game as he did in New York. We shall see.
Jason

 

[Reginald Trent]

It's too early to tell. You won't need to ask this after a month or two because the answer will be clear.