Despite Injury, Watson Has a Shot at Playing

Starting guard Earl Watson, who said Saturday that a deep cut on his shooting hand will sideline him one to two weeks, might be in the lineup tonight at USC without missing a game.

“I imagine he’ll be playing,” Bruin Coach Steve Lavin said Tuesday.

Watson suffered the injury against Stanford, when his right hand was poked between the middle and ring fingers by the nail an unknown player.

Watson practiced Tuesday with the fingers bandaged and taped together to keep the stitches from tearing.

The biggest concern from a medical standpoint is that the stitches might tear and slow the healing process.

From a playing standpoint, it’s that UCLA’s leading scorer will have trouble shooting.

“[He’ll be fine] in terms of defense and rebounding and distributing the ball,” Lavin said. “But since it’s his shooting hand, I think it will be a little more difficult to shoot the ball.”