Editor's note: Each week during the NBA regular season, Dr. Jack Ramsay makes a house call with an ailing team.

This week: Washington Wizards.

The Symptoms

	Doug Collins, left, will need some favorable calls on the Wizards' crucial trip out West.

The Wizards are locked in a death-grip fight with the Milwaukee Bucks for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference -- and both are keeping a wary eye on the New York Knicks, who keep appearing in the rearview mirror. The Wiz are 32-35 -- a half-game behind the Bucks going into Friday's game at Phoenix.

Washington has been on the playoff bubble all season. Its best record was when it reached two games over .500 -- at 6-4. Since then, the Wizards have hovered over or dipped under the break-even mark.

They face five more games on this trip and overall play 11 out of their 15 remaining games on the road, where they are only 9-21 to date. The Bucks have 14 games remaining, seven at home and seven away.

Wizards coach Doug Collins feels that his team must win 41 games to make the playoffs -- a daunting task in view of its remaining schedule and its lack of success as a visiting team.

The Diagnosis
For most teams, the odds against such an accomplishment would be overwhelming. But the Wizards aren't like most teams. They have Michael Jordan on their side -- and MJ has promised to leave no unspent energy in his quest to take his team to the playoffs. At 40 years of age, Michael still puts up big numbers -- 43 points against New Jersey, 39 against the Knicks, 30 against Dallas. He also defends, rebounds, assists and becomes a playmaker when necessary. MJ averages just under 20 points, about six rebounds and four assists a game and leads his team in steals and floor burns.

Jerry Stackhouse complements Jordan's versatility at the perimeter. Stack is an inconsistent shooter -- under 42 percent from the field -- but creates his own shot and gets to the line, where he shoots an excellent 87 percent. Now that both Larry Hughes and Tyronn Lue have recovered from injuries, the point guard situation is in good hands. The Wizards lost precious ground in their bid to make the playoffs when both were hurt at the same time.

Rookie Juan Dixon has had a few strong games, while Bryon Russell hasn't been much help off the bench as a backup swingman.

Up front, Christian Laettner (eight points and six rebounds a game) does a satisfactory job at big forward, but he is backed up by inconsistent youngster Kwame Brown (seven points and five rebounds) and veteran Charles Oakley. Second-year center Brendan Haywood contributes about six points and five rebounds a game and is the team leader in blocks. Strongman Jahidi White, who's been injured most of the season, appears ready to give the front line a much needed boost. However, none of them has a postup game nor is an inside scoring threat.

The Wizards are well-coached by Collins. They play better than average defense (.438 field-goal percentage allowed), and they don't turn the ball over (13.7 per game). But the roster is a patchwork of talent. The young players -- Brown, Haywood and Dixon -- are too inexperienced to contribute on a consistent basis. Veterans Oakley and Russell work hard but are past their primes. That leaves it up to Jordan, Stackhouse, Laettner, Hughes and Lue to carry the team to a level of success beyond its potential.

But for all of that, the Wizards are usually in the game down to the final seconds. They are 9-4 in games decided by three points or less and 2-2 in overtime games.

Most NBA followers don't expect to see Washington in the playoffs, but I don't count them out. I've seen Jordan pull off the unexpected too many times to do that.

The Cure
The Wizards know where they are and what they have to do, and they appear to be going after this challenge in the right way. Jordan said that he's going to give his best effort in each game -- and who could ever doubt that? -- and then "we'll see what happens." He also said that getting the Wizards into the playoffs is his greatest challenge ever as a player ... by far.

	As usual, Michael Jordan will be counted on to work his fourth-quarter magic.

After the team's overtime loss to Detroit earlier in the week, Laettner said that the Wizards needed to focus on each opposing team and that they "couldn't look past anybody and we can't back down from anybody." The Wizards sound as if they are enjoying this test. That's a great attitude to have.

The schedule favors them to this degree: On this six-game trip, there is only one back-to-back set -- at Portland and then at Seattle -- and that one requires brief travel. There's at least a day off between the other games, which is good for Jordan's recovery time.

The Wizards need nine wins just to finish at .500. To do that, they need to go at least 3-3 on this trip. Then they have four games at home and five away for the balance of the season.

It's vital for the Wizards to control tempo in these upcoming games. Phoenix, Golden State and Seattle like to run. The Wizards can't run with them. They need to take advantage of quick breaks off steals, but other than those moments, they must slow the tempo and let MJ and Stack create scores in their half-court offense.

Michael knows that the burden is on him to keep the game within reach until the closing minutes, when he or Stackhouse can win it. If defenses concentrate too much on him, MJ will find open teammates. Brown, Haywood and White will get scoring chances right at the rim. They must complete those plays. Laettner, Lue and Hughes will get open shots at the perimeter. They must make a good percentage of those.

Effective offensive rebounding by the Wizards' big men will keep opponents from running out. Then, every Washington player must sprint back to deny transition scores and knuckle down to unrelenting, rock-ribbed, half-court defense. They must allow no layups and no second shots.

Does all of that sound difficult? It is. Many say it can't be done.

That's when Michael Jordan is at his best.

Dr. Jack Ramsay, who is an NBA analyst for ESPN, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.