Despite dealing with serious discomfort on Saturday after his 37-minute effort Friday night in Game 3, Ray Allen announced he was feeling much better Sunday and will play in Game 4 against Atlanta.
The Celtics got more good news when Avery Bradley took part in the shootaround Sunday morning and coach Doc Rivers announced an hour before tip-off that Bradley would start alongside Rajon Rondo in the backcourt. Bradley has been dealing with a sore left shoulder since blocking Dwyane Wade of the Heat on April 1 at the Garden.
Allen scored 13 points in 37 minutes in his first game back Friday night but Rivers acknowledged afterward that Allen was tiring in overtime. Rivers also expressed concern before Sunday's game about Bradley's shoulder as the playoffs progress.
"It is a concern going forward," Rivers said.
Allen said he won't be thinking about his left ankle, should be called upon to step in again if Bradley is limited.
"You can't control that," Allen said of injury scenarios. "When it happens you hope other guys step up and play well."
The Hawks also got good news on the injury front when Josh Smith tested his sprained left knee Sunday morning and told the Hawks staff that he was feeling good enough to return to his starting role at power forward after missing Game 3, a game the Hawks lost to the Celtics, 90-84, in overtime Friday night.
For complete coverage from the team of Paul Flannery, Mike Petraglia, Ryan Hadfield and Ben Rohrbach, visit the Celtics team page at weei.com/celtics [1] and the Green Street [2] blog.
Links:
[1] http://www.weei.com/celtics
[2] http://www.greenstreet.weei.com
[3] http://www.weei.com/category/boston/celtics