Ray Allen and Mickael Pietrus undergo surgeries – NBA News
Two members of the Boston Celtics squad – Ray Allen and Mickael Pietrus - underwent surgery on Wednesday morning at the New England Baptist Hospital, according to team sources. The surgeries were performed by Celtics team physician
Dr. Brian McKeon and Dr. Mark Slovenkai.
Ray Allen had bone spurs removed from his right ankle. The injury had forced Allen to miss 15 of the final 20 games of the regular season and the first two games of the playoffs against the Atlanta Hawks. He lost his starting position
to Avery Bradley, even after he had returned.
However, Bradley himself was sidelined with a shoulder injury which led to Allen’s return as a starter and he played for the rest of the playoffs. Allen however struggled on the floor due to the injury, and saw his playing time
reduced. His shooting was not the same and he was also not as quick as usual off his feet. This prevented him from coming off the screen to take open shots.
Even his free throw shooting was affected in the post season. Allen had 14.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game on averages in the regular season, and finished with 45.3% shooting from the 3 point range for the regular
season, the 4th best in the NBA this season. His previous best was 44.4% which was set last season.
Mickael Pietrus had surgery performed on his right knee for the second time in two seasons. Last season, his knee was operated upon while he was a member of the Phoenix Suns. He was later traded to the Boston Celtics and missed
the first 8 games of the regular season as he recovered from the surgery. The knee kept giving him trouble in the season, and forced him to play reduced minutes while his numbers also dropped - 6.9 points and 3.1 rebounds.
Pietrus had plans on getting his knee fixed in the offseason as he did not want to be away from the team line as the Celtics made a charge towards the playoffs.
“(The knee) is bothering me a little bit, but I told you guys, I'm going to keep going. It's something I'll worry about getting done in the summertime. (McKeon) told me he'd take a look at it in the summer. It's not a big problem
-- it's something that can be resolved in 15 minutes,” said Pietrus on May 14th.
Both players are all set to become unrestricted free agents in the offseason. Mickael Pietrus has expressed his desire to return to the Celtics team for next season, and the surgery just as the season finished was done in an attempt
to be ready for training camp.
Allen, on the other hand, is yet to give a clear indication as to what he has planned for his future. If the Celtics do not sign him, there have been reports that the Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers will be
looking to hire his services.
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