Reserve point guard Earl Watson did not travel to Toronto with the Jazz, instead heading to Southern California for evaluation on his left knee, on which he underwent surgery in April.
Watson will rejoin the Jazz in Boston, where he could be available to play depending on the results of the tests he is undergoing. the veteran point guard last played on April 8, Easter Sunday, for the Jazz.
"I want to make sure when I come back I'm at a high level," Watson said Saturday. "I can help my team, I can be effective and compete and help our team get to the point we want to be by the postseason."
It will be interesting to see how Watson transitions back with the Jazz. He averaged 21 minutes per game last year with the team, and this year those minutes have been shared between Jamaal Tinsley and Randy Foye. On Saturday, before the Jazz defeated Phoenix at home, coach Tyrone Corbin said he would ease Watson back into the fold.
"Jamaal's been playing," he said, "so we'll go with him and then work Earl in."
• Corbin was among the folks associated with the Jazz stunned by the Lakers' firing of coach Mike Brown on Friday. Monday morning, the Lakers hired former Nuggets and Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni. This move by the Lakers, Corbin approved of.
"He was one of the names I heard early," Corbin said. "Once Phil Jackson's name started floating around, you think he's the frontrunning guy, which I think he was. I don't know, but they said he was for a while there, until things didn't work out. It's a good fit for Mike, he's a veteran guy, he's done things in this league. He understands how to mold veteran guys to the speed that they want to play in L.A."
— Bill Oram
