Michael Jordan did the sensible thing, going on the injured list for the rest of the season. Because they are 2½ games back with eight games to play, the Washington Wizards are not in a strong position to make the playoffs.

Now Michael can rehabilitate his knee, get another medical opinion if he needs one and then make a decision about next season.

No one can predict whether or not Jordan will play again. He never really got an adequate chance to test his knee after having arthroscopic surgery in February. As a 39-year-old, his body will no longer respond as quickly as it did when he was 25. The doctors may have repaired the knee satisfactorily, but he didn't have enough time to rehab it before trying to play again.

His knee might have felt fine, but he lost some timing and gathered some rust because of the time off. It's like starting a 100-yard sprint from a standstill at the 50-yard mark. While everyone else had a head of steam, Michael had to jump back into the game from a cold start and immediately keep up with everyone.

Even though his season is over, Jordan's comeback was highly successful. I think he did what he wanted to do with the team. His presence has had the most to do with them winning 15 more games than they did the year before, and they still have eight games left.

More important than the number of wins, though, is the way the Wizards are playing and their newfound confidence in their abilities. In addition to Jordan, Doug Collins has done a good job with the team, bringing about a team discipline at both ends of the floor. Different players have clearly stepped ahead of where they had been in the past. The Wizards have enough young players to feel they have made a big step forward.

And if Jordan does return, he showed the basketball world he is still one of the game's best players when he is healthy.

Hall of Fame coach Dr. Jack Ramsay is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.