Washington — Michael Jordan was asked if he was looking forward to Friday.
"What's Friday?" he shot back.
He then unwrinkled his brow, let out a sly chuckle, said a few words about how nice it is that the Washington Wizards won't be on the road anytime soon and finally added the punch line that was coming all along.
"I'm definitely looking forward to Chicago," he said.
Maybe Jordan is the best athlete in the universe, because the planets will be aligned for him today at the MCI Center. He's well rested, relatively healthy, has been unstoppable for the last two games and is going for 30,000 points against his old team, the Chicago Bulls.
"He's been giving people 40, 50," said Bulls forward Ron Artest, who played in Jordan's pickup games in Chicago over the summer. "He's probably going to try to give me about 70. I'm going to try and give him 70, too."
It's not out of the question, at least for Jordan. After putting up 51 points against Charlotte and 45 on New Year's Eve against New Jersey, Jordan indicated more of the same is on the way. The tendinitis in his knee is on the wane, allowing him to resume daily weightlifting and regain strength in his legs for better lift on his jumpers and quicker drives to the basket.
"This is how I was playing all summer," Jordan said, "before I broke my ribs."
Ribs, knees and back problems added up to a slow start for Jordan's second comeback. His shot wasn't falling, and he couldn't shake off a defender to drive. The scouting report changed, and he stopped getting double-teamed because teammate Richard Hamilton was actually scoring more.
"What has happened is, at the beginning of the season they didn't feel they needed it because I wasn't making my shots and I didn't seem as quick," Jordan said. "Most teams in the last couple of games have been playing me straight man-to-man, and I think that's going to have to change. If not, I think it's going to be to our benefit."
No comments
Commenting is turned off for this story.