What's the first thing you notice when you see ESPN's Fred Carter on NBA 2Night or SportsCenter? Of course, he points at you. It's his way of saying hello. So we've asked NBA expert Fred to greet us and make some points for ESPN.com each week. Enjoy.

	Jordan

1. Michael Jordan was shooting a horrific .378 from the field heading into Wednesday's game. Is this merely a bad start, or is Michael going to have problems all season?
I think Michael is going to have problems all season long. Remember, basketball is a young man's game. Without the ability and quickness to get by people and get to the basket, everyone knows Michael is going to pull up and shoot the jump shot. In baseball, when a hitter goes up against a guy with no curveball, no change up, nothing but a fastball, he sits on it. Michael doesn't have the quickness in his legs to jump over people. He doesn't have that moving fastball -- people will sit on him and wait. Because he's somewhat one-dimensional, opposing defenses will get better at defending him. The first time around, most of them are just in awe of guarding Jordan. The second time around, they'll tie up their sneakers, pull up their pants, and be ready to go. It's only going to get tougher for Michael.

2. The Knicks and Heat are also off to miserable starts, and neither team is looking playoff-worthy at this point. Do these teams need to make changes or are we looking at sub-.500 records for each?
Both teams play a bad brand of basketball for the new millennium. They want to slow down, dig in the trenches, and play knock-down-drag-out basketball -- which is not the basketball of the new millennium. These days, you have to get up and down the floor and get your players easy, make-able shots. When you play the slow-down basketball, opponents dig in with you and it's a tough style to be good at. Neither the Knicks nor the Heat have enough good offensive players to play that way. If you play a fast-paced game, and get your lesser players shots that they couldn't get by themselves, you open the game up. Pat Riley and Jeff Gundy have to reevaluate the kind of game they have their respective teams playing.

3. Minnesota won its first six games before a hiccup against Cleveland on Tuesday. Why are the Wolves, with similar personnel to recent seasons, doing so much better now?
Let's not forget, the Wolves have had a pretty soft schedule thus far. Milwaukee was the only good team they beat and they have the Bucks' phone number for some reason -- the Wolves can call up Milwaukee and beat them whenever they want. The hiccup against Cleveland was a bad indicator for Minnesota. For the Wolves to make the playoffs and advance, they have to have home court advantage. Sure, it's an early loss, but when you lose to a team like Cleveland -- in your own building -- it's like giving up two W's.

	Marbury

	Penny

4. Penny Hardaway is putting up numbers reminiscent of his big years in Orlando. Are Penny and Stephon Marbury one of the best backcourts in the league, and can you see Penny keeping up this pace?
Hardaway and Marbury are really playing well together. I'm not sure if they are the very best backcourt tandem in the league, but they look pretty good. Hardaway had really been underachieving -- he sort of became a big name with very little game. But now his game has really come to the forefront and he has improved. I had been down on him like a lot of other people, but I am really impressed with his consistency now. Hopefully, he'll keep it up. There was a time where he was running his mouth, whining and didn't play well. I think he can keep up the pace if he stays healthy. He's seems to have grown up now -- he knows he sat around for too long complaining about coaches and not responding to injuries. If he can respond better to injuries -- or better yet -- not get hurt, he should be able to keep it up.

5. Memphis is the league's lone winless team, but the Bulls still appear to be worse. Which team is the league's worst, and what's your take on the Charles Oakley-Tim Floyd mess in Chicago?
Memphis and Chicago both have to look at their organizations and figure out what they are trying to do and where they are wanting to go. Talent acquisition has not been good for either organization. The Bulls traded their best offensive player, Elton Brand, for a high school kid, so now they can't score. Fortunately for the Bulls, the Knicks stumbled and the Bulls got a win, otherwise they might be winless right along with the Grizzlies. Even though the Grizzlies haven't won, they are probably better than the Bulls, because they have more offensive players than the Bulls. I'm hoping both teams get to at least 10 wins so my 9-73 record holds up!

As far as Oakley and Floyd are concerned, Oakley needs to keep his mouth shut. He ran his mouth in New York, he ran his mouth in Toronto -- no one really wanted him but he was lucky enough to get a job from the Bulls. He needs to stop running his mouth and start being a leader.