Has the Michael Jordan train de-railed after positioning the Wizards so close to a playoff berth?  Maybe, maybe not, but one thing is for certain Michael Jordan will be sitting out the next few games.

Jordan had his knee drained for the third team this season before the Wizards took on the Miami Heat for the second time in as many days, this time in Miami.  But during the fourth quarter Jordan the mind was forced to give in to Jordan the body, sitting our the remaining six minutes, 27 seconds of the game while his Wizards squandered a lead to lose their fifth straight game.

But what was first thought to be tendinitis - which Jordan has battled all year on his right knee - turned to be more serious when Miami's doctor diagnosed that the knee could now be stricken with arthritis, which as John Mitchell of the Washington Times states is at this stage is far worse than the tendinitis Jordan has thus far endured.

"I was told that it's more of an arthritic condition," Collins said after the Wizards could muster just 13 points in the fourth quarter. "It happens more now because of all the activity that he's doing. Michael is out there trying to compete on one leg."

The injury could see Jordan land on the Injured Reserve, something that Jordan has been immune to for much of his career.  But in typical Jordan fashion he has not ruled himself out of appearing in the lineup to tackle the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday.

"That could be a very strong possibility," was Jordan's response to possibly being placed on the injured list. "We'll see how I feel the next couple days to see how I feel and make my decision from that. So I probably will have to sit out a couple of games judging by the way I feel now."

"It really gives me an indication that I need to sit it out and rest it and let it really heal," said Jordan. "If I don't play, I'm going to try to still go through practice on Tuesday and then try to play on Wednesday."

But perhaps a more pressing issue for the Washington Wizards is now what happens to Jordan playing on next season?  Expressing that he would like to continue playing next year, Jordan is contracted for another season beyond this one, MJ didn't sound to optimistic.

"I'm getting old," said Jordan. "It's a sign obviously that things are coming to a closure. There was a time when back-to-backs were easy to bounce back from. I don't want to ignore it too much. My competitive nature is to go against the grain. Tonight my body won. I have to be very cautious and understand what my body is saying."

"I think there are some things that need to be talked about with doctors in terms of what I need to be doing in the offseason. But it's so far in advance for me to be thinking about that right now. I just want to focus on the moment and when the season ends that's when I think about things."

Jordan finished the game with nine points on 4-for-13 shooting in 30 minutes, failing to score in double-digits for the second time this season.  Running partner Richard Hamilton also faltered, scoring only eight points on 4-for-15 shooting.

"I thought the first three quarters, I was able to disguise it a little bit," said Jordan. "No one really noticed the way I was limping and pulling that leg. I felt a little bit like [former Chicago Bulls teammate] Ron Harper. Then, when they started to notice it in the fourth quarter, I became a target. That's when I'm not really helping the team, whenever they start to come at me and I become a vulnerable player. I told [Washington coach] Doug [Collins] that I couldn't make it and to do whatever we could to find someone to step in."