Boston Celtics guard Ray Allen has sat out two consecutive games with a sprained ankle but is expected to return for Wednesday's home showdown against the Detroit Pistons.
The six-time All-Star injured the ankle Nov. 24 at Charlotte, but Coach Doc Rivers believes Allen will be back in action.
"He's fine. Ray will play on Wednesday," Rivers said.
"I'm pretty sure of that. You never know, but I'm pretty much sure of that."
Rivers said Allen's injury "is really not that deep."
The 12th-year veteran is averaging 19.2 points and career lows in field goal percentage (.408) and 3-point percentage (.353).
When asked if he believed Allen's ankle injury has affected his shooting, Rivers said, "I was never a shooter, so what the [heck] would I know. But I do know when your ankles are sore, when you have sprained ankles, you tend to struggle shooting because of balance. He's such a pure balance shooter that it could have had an effect."
Allen was injured against Charlotte on Nov. 24 but remained in the lineup until last Friday, when he missed his first game of the season. It was the first time this season Boston played without its three stars - Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce - in the lineup.
Allen is averaging 19.1 points and 4.3 rebounds. His field goal percentage was 42.8 percent at the time of his injury, but he has shot 39.2 percent in eight games since.
"In the Charlotte game, when he originally hurt it, he didn't tell anyone," Rivers said of the Nov. 24 game against the Bobcats. "(Celtics trainer) Eddie Lacerte wasn't upset, but if Ray had told him, then he could have treated and taped it right then. Instead, when he took off his sneaker after the game it blew up."Ray is just built to play," he said. "There's a group of guys who play with injuries that a lot of other guys would clearly miss practice with. Kevin (Garnett) is one of those guys. Paul (Pierce) is one of those guys. And then there are other guys who get these injuries and they're out."
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JAZZ: Utah played a fourth straight game Monday without starting center Mehmet Okur, who remains sidelined with a strained and bruised left shoulder.
"I feel better - but that's without contact, without pushing against anybody," Okur said before the Jazz's 116-111 loss to Atlanta on Monday night here. "I haven't tried any 1-on-1 or 5-on-5 on the floor."
The All-Star said he wasn't sure if he'd be ready to return when the Jazz play Wednesday at Charlotte - bet on the game at WagerWeb.com. One report said Okur could miss another week.
The Jazz brought Okur on their four-game road trip hoping he could play. The Jazz are now 2-7 in December and 1-3 without Okur, who is averaging 12.2 points and 5.0 rebounds in 21 games.
Jazz coach Jerry Sloan plans to start Jarron Collins in Okur's place and bring forward Paul Millsap off the bench ROCKETS: Guard Tracy McGrady sat out Monday's practice with a bruised right knee, but said he expects to play Wednesday against his former team, the Orlando Magic - bet on the game at WgerWeb.com.
McGrady said the knee has been sore for about two weeks and was aggravated with a fall Saturday.
"I'll be fine," McGrady said. "I'm taking these two days to rest it up and let the pain and the swelling to go out of there a little bit. It will help me a lot."
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