In related news, Ray Allen said moving to the second unit might actually help him get into a better flow. (Boston Herald)

“The way it’s been, that first six or seven minutes I’m kind of floating a little bit, and that’s how I’ve been for the last few months,” said Allen. “The second unit gives me the ability to get more shots and have the ball in my hands a little more. It’s a weird dynamic. Doc has to figure how we’re going to be best. We have so many moving parts right now.

“It’s interesting. I have the ball and have more of an opportunity to be a playmaker, but as a group we all have to think more about being playmakers and getting great shots,” he said. “When I’m (coming off the bench) yeah it does give me the opportunity to get more shots and a scoring mentality. But it’s not about getting shot attempts up. It’s about getting me more in the rhythm of the offense that we have. For almost a month and a half when I was in the (starting lineup) I was drifting away from the rhythm of the offense.”

After scorching the nets to start the season, Allen’s efficiency has diminished each month. Check out his monthly splits:

December: 20.0 points, 58.1% field goals, 58.3% 3-pt field goals

January: 13.5 points, 48.3% field goals, 54.9% 3-pt field goals

February: 14.4 points, 44.2% field goals, 40.6% 3-pt field goals

March: 14.0 points, 42.7% field goals, 39.7% 3-pt field goals

So maybe this move to the bench can get him going? But first, a quick concern about Allen’s comments:

He believes his new role in the offense will allow him to be more of a playmaker, or will force him to be more of a playmaker, depending how you look at it, yet playmaking is the area of Allen’s offensive repertoire which has fallen off the most in his later years. It’s entirely possible that featuring Allen as a playmaker for the second unit works — after all, it looks a lot better on paper than having Bradley or Keyon Dooling fill that role — but he isn’t the same playmaker he used to be, and has been evolving into more and more of a play finisher rather than creator since landing in Boston.

Changing tracks, if you expected Allen to hate coming off the bench, you’re wrong. Accepting a different role is actually a part of the aging process into which Allen has put a lot of thought and with which he seems to be okay.

“This is Doc’s ship, and whatever Doc needs and wants, we have to do it for him,” said Allen. “It’s something I thought about years ago when you look at guys near the end of their careers. I saw it in Allen Iverson refusing to come off the bench.

“It doesn’t change a whole lot, but I understand it,” he said. “You understand you’ve been doing something for so long. But having the essence of the team and the understanding of the team and what we want to do to win, if that’s what Doc needs then it’s up to him.

“It’s like (Rivers) drawing up a play. I’m going to go with whatever he feels is necessary for us to score a bucket or to help win that game. That’s his call.”