Ray Allen ‘bothered’ by ankle in Game 6, calls himself ‘day-to-day’
File this one under “The Celtics should have just won Game 5 and afforded themselves a few days of rest.”
Ray Allen said his ankle bothered him during last night’s game, and isn’t sure whether he’ll have to miss time moving forward. (ESPN Boston)
“(The ankle) bothered more tonight than it had the previous couple games,” said Allen. “I didn’t have the confidence on it. Right now, it bothers me, but I have a day (Friday) to deal with it.”
Might Allen miss a game if the pain lingers?
“I never rule myself out,” he said. “I think it’s a day-to-day situation for me.”
Allen previously noted, “Today wasn’t a great day. I struggled with (the ankle). (Wednesday) was a transition day, but coming in (Thursday), it was a little tougher. I just worked through it.”
Allen missed six of his seven three-point attempts and two of his six free throws (he’s now hit just 8 of 14 free throws since returning to the Celtics’ lineup). Many of the misses were short, as he clearly couldn’t get the required lift on his jumper (though he did find the lift to attempt dunking on Josh Smith’s mug).
Last night also provided a perfect “Ray Allen or Avery Bradley?” moment. Bradley didn’t play great himself, but his pressure defense on Jeff Teague sparked the 16-0 run that allowed the Celtics to take control during the second quarter. His defense is always better than Allen’s, and both were similarly woeful in their shooting last night. Later in the game, the score was close, the Hawks stuck around, and Doc Rivers needed to pick a shooting guard. Allen was obviously hindered by his bone spurs, but Rivers still rode him almost the entire fourth quarter, except when he inserted Bradley near the end strictly for defensive purposes. Rivers obviously trusts Allen more, and you can’t blame him for that. Allen’s won dozens of games for the Celtics from behind the three-point arc. But the Celtics’ best lineup includes Bradley. It should be a difficult decision for Rivers, but he’s obviously leaning toward the guy who’s won playoff games for the Celtics before.
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Celtics Blog | Jay King | May 11, 2012
Give Ray limited minutes. I always looked at EM as a young Ray Allen with his ability to hit the 3. In the event of Ray not getting minutes, I would play E’twaun. For this team to win comfortably, there needs to be contributions from every team member. Doc does not mix this team up like he should. It would be valuable experience for guys like JJ to play alongside PP and RA and EM alongside KG and RR. The youth are the ones even tho inexperienced who have a chance of matching the speed of teams that like to run such as OKC. This team would be more balanced if EVERY player got minutes.
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Like I said previously when some were saying RA might not need surgery, bone spurs do not heal themselves. Hopefully, he can use the days off to rehab and hopefully the spurs keep from moving around to where they severely impact his ability to play. And I second the ‘let EM and youngsters play’ by CPUFC. This is going to be a running series as that is the only way Philly has any chance. The Cs can run, but it’ll help to use our youth and so we’ll see if Doc realizes that. Go Cs…rest up!
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Not to undermine the opponent, BUT the Do should really be reloading for Miami.If ray needs rest then he should get rest . even if it means him missing the series. The bench will/has to step up
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I love Ray but if he’s hurt, he’s hurt, and last night proved that a hurt player cannot be productive. Ray missing free throws is evident of this. He’s not himself, and he missed a few open threes in the final quarter that could’ve made things a lot easier for the C’s going into the stretch. It’s not a matter of giving Bradley more minutes, but giving Moore some time off the bench (agree with comment above). Moore is a younger Ray though he may actually be a better overall athlete. But Doc will never trust a rookie so it’s a waste of time to argue.
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