Bobcats guard Raja Bell is putting off surgery on his right wrist in hopes that he'll be able to play through a torn ligament.

If he opted for surgery, he'd likely miss four months of action.

"I'm going to [sit out] for another week to see if it continues to progress as it has, then I'll probably wind up playing," Bell told the Associated Press on Tuesday. "If it doesn't, then we'll go back to the drawing board."

He suffered the injury when his hand bent back awkwardly during a preseason game on Oct. 18. Bell received a second opinion from a doctor that said he could play if he could withstand the pain.

"I'm pretty encouraged," he said. "It's feeling a lot better than it did. I still have some hurdles to clear with it, but I feel good."