Michael Jordan is finding that winning is beyond his control

WASHINGTON

Still in his sweats, Michael Jordan went straight from practice to a meeting of Washington Wizards upper management.

Hours later, he was in full uniform, playing a team-high 41 minutes and accounting for 83 percent of the points scored by the starting lineup.

Jordan is having to do everything, and the Wizards keep losing. Tuesday night's 95-88 defeat to Charlotte was Washington's seventh straight loss, the longest in Jordan's NBA career. The last five losses were at home.

"We're always putting everything on Michael," coach Doug Collins said. "The other guys have to play."

In a sense, the scenario is playing out as forecast when Jordan announced his comeback two months ago: He is the best player on a very bad team. He's not what he once was, but he's dangerous when he gets in a groove.

But the results are even worse than imagined. In fact, Jordan hasn't improved them at all. The Wizards are 2-8, the same record they had after 10 games last year, and the year before.

"We're trying to prove a point," Jordan said. "Unfortunately, it's going the wrong way."

Why aren't young players such as Richard Hamilton, Courtney Alexander and Kwame Brown -- all first-round draft picks -- contributing more? Collins is reaching his exasperation point trying to figure that out.

"We came out like we were sleepwalking," Collins said after the Charlotte game, in which the Hornets were missing two of their top three players. "I see guys looking around like the answer's somewhere else. The answer is nowhere else. I'm trying to give everybody I can a chance, and no one's willing to grasp hold.

"It's very hard. When you get mired in losing, it's almost like you feel like that's what you're supposed to do."

Motivation problems

Collins has tinkered with the lineup and rotation nearly every game. He even stopped talking to his players on the bench Tuesday night during the fourth quarter against the Charlotte Hornets, just to see if it could produce some kind of positive reaction. It didn't, forcing Collins once again to plead for some show of passion because "it's almost like they don't like to play."

"You know Michael's going to play with tenacity and play the way he plays," Collins said. "I don't know whether Michael overwhelms them, or whether I overwhelm them. But, guys, you got to play."

The thought of an overwhelming Jordan brings up a recurrent issue. Before the season, Jordan said his teammates have to stop thinking of him as the president of basketball operations. It was a naive thought, and he now admits as much.

"It's there, obviously," Jordan said. "I kind of sticks out because of my accolades previous to me being on this team. Plus, a couple of the guys, I negotiated their contracts.

"It's there, but as I move into the locker room and get to know these guys from a player's standpoint, hopefully some of that's going to decrease. I don't think it's ever going to be eliminated."

Trying to bond

Jordan said he's tried to bond with the players, and a team meeting before the Hornets game maybe helped a little. But his popularity means he can't just stroll down the street with the guys to a restaurant on a road trip.

"I'm not going to invade their private time," Jordan said. "I bring a lot of baggage with me whenever I try to do things."

Jordan had to give up the management title when he returned as a player, but there is little doubt he is still in charge. And the players know it.

"He doesn't force the idea that he is the boss, that he signs the checks and goes on the court," forward Etan Thomas said. "But that idea is still there -- because he is."

The Wizards are still learning when they need to feed Jordan because he's hot -- and when to expect the no-look pass or take shots themselves because he's double-teamed. The thought that he's the boss just makes the whole situation more awkward.

"We're letting ourselves down," guard Hubert Davis said. "Even though he's the greatest basketball player ever, it's not about one person."

Jordan getting better

As for Jordan's game, it's getting better. He is averaging 27.4 points, and his shooting percentage has improved each of the last three games. But he is still essentially a jump-shooter who double require a double-team every time down the court.

Jordan would be much more effective if his legs weren't dragging in the fourth quarter. Because his teammates aren't supporting him -- the rest of the starting lineup was 1-for-10 from the field on Tuesday -- Jordan is averaging 38 minutes per game.

"I would love to play fewer minutes," Jordan said. "But I want to win, too. I never anticipated myself playing 40, 39 minutes. I would have loved to have kept it around 30, 32 minutes. That means everybody's contributing.

"Can I do it all season long? I don't think so. I wouldn't want to. That means we have to have an emergence of some of these guys stepping up and taking some of that weight off."