THE BOX OUT PICK AND POPS 1. Let's make this clear: Jermaine O'Neal deserves to start for the Eastern All-Stars. But if he had been classified properly as a forward, Michael Jordan (with 1,082,909 votes) would've gotten the nod over O'Neal (940,958). 2.To make good on Robert Horry's .500-by-February promise, the Lakers have to win three straight. Should they beat the Nets at home and the Suns in Phoenix (where they're 18-3), the champs must get by the Kings in Arco Arena to get to 22-22. Good luck. QUOTE OF THE DAY “I don't think it bothers him in the least. He understands fully the NBA has put out four forms of (ballots in) Mandarin, Cantonese, Pekingese and also Hong Kong-ese to allow the Chinese voters to vote on the All-Star ballot, which probably skews it a little bit." —Lakers coach Phil Jackson on Shaquille O'Neal's thoughts about losing the West's starting center spot to Yao Ming -- and two languages that don't exist (Pekingese and Hong Kong-ese). NUMBER OF THE DAY 124 The number of consecutive games Jason Kidd has played for the Nets since being dealt from Phoenix, where he played just one 82-game season in four-plus years. TRASH TALK You have something to say? Then say it below. But keep it clean. And include your hometown AND state. Name: E-Mail: City/State: Your comment:

Questions with equal uncertainty surround the Washington Wizards these days, the main unsolved mystery being: Will that one-tenth of a chance of a comeback tempt Michael Jordan to play one more season not in a Wizards uniform? And the other issue: If retirement truly awaits Jordan, will he have one last playoff story to tell his future grand kids?

At least we'll know an answer to the latter in three months.

At the season's halfway mark, the Wizards have broken even at 21 up and 21 down trying to keep their grip on the Eastern Conference's last playoff spot. To qualify, all they'll have to do is hold off the suddenly resurgent Bucks, who sit just a half-game back after reviving their postseason hopes with a five-game win streak.

Making the playoffs would go a long way toward building confidence for the Wiz's younger players. Problem is, the franchise's future is observing the playoff effort more than contributing to the common cause. Even the kid with the untapped ability, who needs to uncork that potential on the court, has been reduced to a spectator.

Kwame Brown is now the first No. 1 overall pick off the bench. Sometimes, he gets 31 minutes, as he did in Wednesday's 103-94 loss in New Orleans. But most of the time he gets 19 minutes, the amount he received in three out of the team's past five games.

Ask about his current situation and Brown's sullen look sours -- then brightens. "People are always talking about now," says Brown, trying to hide his frustration. "But things will definitely change. My time will come. That's why I'm staying positive. My day will come."

Jordan can't wait any longer for Brown's breakout day or season. Because, even if Jordan does come back to play for the Wizards, he may not have someone like Jerry Stackhouse, a free agent this summer, to draw defenses' attention.

The 28-year-old Stackhouse is a young pup compared to the veterans memorial taking place in D.C. There, on the Wizards' roster, you'll also find 11-year veteran Christian Laettner as the starting power forward -- over Brown -- and 39-year-old Charles Oakley as the fourth-quarter finisher -- over Brown.

How much knowledge can one possibly glean while sitting on the bench? Plenty, says Jordan.

"It's good just to be around guys who know how to play basketball. They're education for our young kids," said Jordan, who included assistant coach Patrick Ewing among the Wizards' walking basketball encyclopedias. "If they don't absorb that, then they're missing the chance of a lifetime. Because those guys have played enough basketball to understand how to play at this level, and hopefully, our young kids can learn from that."

Know this: The Wizards' push for the postseason has nothing to do with developing the kids. It's all about getting Jordan to play in games in late April, May and -- he hopes -- June one last time. His sense of urgency indicates that there may not be a next time.

So what if the Wizards will be rewarded with a first-round date against arguably the East's deepest squad in the Pacers. And never mind that of the Wizards' 11 games in February, eight will be against current playoff teams (Hornets twice, Kings, Jazz, Nets, Mavericks, Pacers, Rockets), or that 11 of their final 15 games will be on the road, including a killer six-game swing out West at the end of March.

Time is more than money for MJ. Time means more mileage on 39-year-old legs coming off knee surgery just 11 months ago. The clock is ticking on a body that -- despite conserving energy by thinking three seconds ahead to anticipate rebounds and avoiding contact with 18-foot jumpers -- is still 24 days away from reaching the Big Four-Oh.

In the blinders-on, tunnel-visioned world of Michael Jordan, the only thing that matters is playing for the photo op with the Larry O'Brien trophy amid a rain of confetti. Always has been, always will be. Hopefully for him, his teammates feel it's just as pressing.

"I don't think anybody knows," replied Jordan, when asked to assess his team's chances after his next-to-last game at Madison Square Garden. "We can be a wild card to a lot of teams. We've got enough young players, some great veteran players and some good, talented players on this team. If we can get into the playoffs, I'm pretty sure we could be a very dangerous team.

"No one knows what to expect."

Joe Lago, the NBA editor for ESPN.com, writes the Morning Shootaround every Wednesday and Friday.