Ray Allen On Possibility Of Missing A Game: 'Hell No'
BOSTON (CBS) -- Ray Allen is a future Hall of Famer who has hit more 3-pointers than any other player in NBA history. Even at 36 years old, he's a tremendous player, but injuries have limited him greatly this postseason for the Celtics.
Because of that drop in production, there's been at least some murmuring of Doc Rivers and the Celtics opting to force Allen to sit out of a game in order to rest his ailing ankle.
For Ray, though, that's not a possibility.
"Hell no," he said Wednesday morning. "This is not the time to sit."
Allen made just one of his seven shots in Game 1 on Monday. That make was from behind the 3-point arc, but he missed his other three long-distance attempts. Most startling of all though was Allen's 3-for-7 performance from the free-throw line. He has hit 91.4 percent of his free throws since joining the Celtics in 2007, and he's fourth all time with an .894 free-throw shooting percentage in his career.
Despite Allen's struggles, he still has his teammates' faith as the series goes on.
"He's really being a soldier, just being out there and playing," Celtics captain Paul Pierce said. "A lot of players wouldn't be out there with what he's going through. We're just grateful to have his presence. ... He's dealing with a tough injury, and we respect him for coming out there. Even though his shots are not falling, you still have to pay attention to him. And we feel that any given moment he could explode for us."
This postseason, Allen is averaging just 9.6 points per game. The Boston Globe's Gary Washburn tweeted Wednesday that Allen was the first Celtics player to arrive at the arena, and he spent time practicing free throws.
