Excerpts from an interview Tuesday with Jazz guard Earl Watson following shootaround at EnergySolutions Arena.
Watson on the status of his sprained left ankle and whether he expects to play against Oklahoma City: It's tough to really gauge it. I did a lot before the Laker game. I felt good. Then I did a lot yesterday and I felt good. But it's more or less the next [day's pain] if I was to play and that setback. I don't want to bring it back. I'm going to go before the game, get a good workout and see how I feel. I think I can play anyway — I always feel like I can play. But I've got to be smart. … Same ankle as before, so I have to be smart about it. Our team is playing well, so it's not like a rush for me to get back. Jamaal's playing well, everyone's playing well. But then during the game, it's like the competitive spirits come out and I just want to play, you know what I mean? It looks fun. It's like the kid [staring] at the birthday cake who's allergic to cake. He can't eat it. It sucks. [Laughs]
Smarter to sit out against Thunder: I don't know. Our shootarounds are light, so before the game I'm going to go really, really hard and see what happens. Whatever happens, I'll be ready for whatever. … Sacramento or even Denver, that'd be great. We'll see what happens. A big game like this, who wouldn't want to play?
Brian T. Smith
Twitter: @tribjazz
