Bell Plans to Start Monday
Bobcats shooting guard Raja Bell plans to delay surgery on his wrist and start tonight against the New Jersey Nets.
Bell, who has a partially torn ligament in his left wrist, opted to try and play with the injury instead of going with a surgical option, which could take up to four months to recover from. He went through a shootaround yesterday, and coach Larry Brown plans on starting him, despite the fact that he hasn’t made it through a full-contact practice yet.
“It’ll be an adventure, but I feel pretty confident about it,” Bell said. “The passing, the dribbling, the rebounding and stuff is OK. I’ll try to protect it a little bit as best as I can until I get some practices. But when you feel like you can get out there and help, in any capacity, it’s kind of time to go.”
Bell should provide an immediate boost to the Bobcats (1-2), who have started the season as the NBA’s lowest scoring team. With backup SG Ronald “Flip” Murray out due to a stress reaction in his left shin, the shooting guard position for the Bobcats has provided huge problems offensively and defensively so far. Murray may make his season debut on Friday against Atlanta.
Bell averaged 13 points and four rebounds last season after being traded from Phoenix to Charlotte in December. He provided the Bobcats with a 42 percent shooter from three-point range to stretch defenses, yet he was also considered Charlotte’s best defensive threat.
And if the injury flares up?
“If it starts to hurt,” Bell said, “then I’ll deal with that when it happens.”
