Ray Allen: ‘I feel surprisingly great’
Perhaps the most remarkable part of Ray Allen’s return from a month of inactivity has been his consistency during the past two games against the Hawks.
The Celtics guard, finally slotted in the sixth-man role coach Doc Rivers has envisioned for him at least since the All-Star break, has put up classic sixth-man numbers, including a 12.5 scoring average and 11-for-21 (.524) shooting. Only his 3-point shooting (2-for-7) has been a tad slower to take off, but there’s always time, especially now with the Celtics taking a 3-1 first-round series lead into Game 5 tonight in Atlanta.
Though there’s always the threat of a day-after setback — a constant concern for someone who admits he’ll need surgery on the bone spurs in his right ankle this summer — Allen looked resolute Sunday night.
“I feel surprisingly great,” he said. “I’m really managing my off days really well. And you have a tendency when you get back off of an injury (to) kind of let it slide a bit, (but) I haven’t been. And it’s important to me to rest up.
“I know once I get in the game, my body’s going to require a little bit more, so I’m trying to move and shoot around on days before games. When I get my shots up, I’m trying to move and mirror what I’m going to do in the game, so there’s no surprises.”
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