Marcus Camby will not make a prediction concerning his injured left foot. But when asked today whether he would play in the Oct. 30 season opener against Michael Jordan and the Washington Wizards, Camby did not waver, answering with a confident, "Yeah."

There is no way for Camby, who has plantar fasciitis in his left foot, to be sure. But Dr. John McNerney, a podiatrist who has worked with the Nets for 24 years, says Camby and the Knicks have every reason to be optimistic.

"It's very possible that the plantar fascia could be gone within the next week or so, or even by Saturday," said McNerney, who works at Pascack Valley Hospital in Westwood, N.J. "During the course of a season, every N.B.A. team probably has at least one player who gets plantar fascia. Most of the players get better without incident. But with a few of them, it tends to linger."