Cause for concern
Ray Allen, bothered by a pinched nerve in his neck for the better part of a week, likely will miss tonight’s Celtics [team stats] game at the Garden against the Charlotte Bobcats because of some alarming conditions.
The guard, who sat out yesterday’s practice, said he recently started to experience numbness in three fingers on his right (shooting) hand. The little finger on the hand also developed discoloration.
“I haven’t been able to sleep,” said Allen, who said he first started to notice symptoms shortly before Friday’s home win over Memphis.
Allen played against the Grizzlies and again in Saturday night’s road win against the Detroit Pistons. By yesterday, however, the discomfort had finally reached a breaking point.
“It’s just real uncomfortable,” Allen said.
According to Allen, doctors were alarmed enough by what they saw on an MRI that they then ordered a CT scan. He was awaiting the results of the latter test.
“The doctor asked if there was anything in one of the games that could have caused this, but I don’t know,” he said. “I’ve never had anything like this before.”
Allen has no idea if his Dec. 30 collision with Lamar Odom in Los Angeles - essentially a flying hip check delivered by the Los Angeles Lakers forward that resulted in a Flagrant 2 foul and one-game suspension - played a role in the injury.
“I mean, I’m sore after every game,” he said. “You ice yourself after every game, wake up in the morning, see a scar across your chest, and it’s hard to say where you got it from. The things we put our bodies through are normal for us. So you never distinguish one from the other.”
Allen’s coach didn’t sound particularly concerned.
“Not really,” said Doc Rivers, adding with a joke, “If he loses it forever, that would be bad.”
Davis expects to go
Glen Davis also missed practice with a sore right knee. He is expected to play tonight.
The big rookie was hurt while landing awkwardly during his 20-point rampage against the Pistons, though the injury wasn’t bad enough to keep him off the floor.
“With the adrenaline rush you don’t feel anything while you’re playing,” Glen Davis said. “Besides, in a big game you don’t want to go out.”
Davis, incidentally, was in full school-spirit mode, courtesy of alma mater LSU’s win Monday night over Ohio State for college football’s national title.
“LSU wins another one,” he said.
Matchup problems
Allen, whose last-minute shot won a Nov. 24 game at Charlotte, is probably the one player not to lose with the Bobcats in town.
“We’d better play better this time,” Rivers said. “They create a ton of matchup problems for you, and then they go into (isolations) that are difficult for us. (Gerald) Wallace at the 4 is tough.”
Said Kevin Garnett: “(Wallace) is one of the few players in this league who plays both ways, and now he’s shooting 3s, too. But he’s one of the best one-on-one defenders in the league.”
Read more at www.bostonherald.com
