WALTHAM, Mass. — Here is your obligatory update on Ray Allen's right ankle.
Allen participated in practice Thursday with no complications and was "optimistic" about his chances to play in the Celtics' first-round playoff series, but neither Allen nor head coach Doc Rivers bothered to make any estimate on the odds he would play in Friday's Game 3 against the Hawks at the TD Garden. Until Allen jogs onto the parquet floor in full uniform, fans should not expect any definitive change to Allen's status.
No amount of rest or treatment will heal Allen's ankle until the bone spurs are surgically removed in the offseason.
"There'll be a Monday where I feel pretty good and then Tuesday it'll be like, it's not happening today," Allen said. "I've tried to read my body as best I can. The last couple days I've been in a really good place, so I'm optimistic."
The most accomplished 3-point shooter in NBA history has not played since April 10, and the Hawks took advantage of his absence to crowd the lane in the first two games of the series. Avery Bradley has yet to make the Hawks respect his outside shot, and the Celtics have shot just 3-for-25 on 3-point field goals as a team.
Allen has continued to perform as much as his daily routine as possible during his absence, shooting when his ankle allows and riding a bike on Wednesday, according to Rivers. The team has monitored Allen's progress, if it can be called that, but in a way the Celtics are in unfamiliar territory by trying to rehabilitate an injury for which surgery is the only known course of action.
"Really, I don't know what to do," Rivers said. "Honest to God. [Head trainer Ed Lacerte] and our doctors have talked, and we don't know the answer. We don't know if practicing is a good idea or not, so if he practices [Thursday] and doesn't play [Friday], I'm going to be mad at myself. We'll see what happens."
In other words, file Allen under "maybe," at best, for Game 3.
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