Kidd’s Playing Status Uncertain

CHARLOTTE, N.C. —  Jason Kidd was the last one off the Nets’ team bus Saturday, dark sunglasses covering his swollen eye. When he took them off, he looked more like a boxer after losing a title fight than New Jersey’s star guard.

His right eyelid was swollen and bruised, the clear bandage over his eyebrow doing little to cover the dozen or so stitches underneath it. A second purplish bruise ran diagonally underneath his eye.

As bad as the wounds looked from Thursday night’s bloody, head-to-head collision with Charlotte Hornet guard David Wesley, the Nets insisted Kidd’s eye was improving and were hopeful he would play today in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

“I can see everything, the eye is opening and has gotten better each day. My vision hasn’t been blurred,” said Kidd, a towel draped over his head after some light shooting drills.

“I want to play, but if my eye shuts, there’s no way I can play. The big thing is to see how I feel in the morning.”

Charlotte center Elden Campbell missed practice Saturday with a virus, and the Hornets are hoping it is just a 24-hour bug.