WALTHAM A number of the Boston Celtics' more seasoned players have enjoyed a bit of a renaissance lately, Ray Allen among them.

But his flashback in time isn't one he or the Celtics feel good about.

Allen said the right ankle injury that has bothered him for months is giving him the kind of pain and discomfort he felt two weeks ago, which makes his availability for Game 1 of Saturday's second round playoff series against Philadelphia, questionable.

"It's very sore and achy," Allen said. "And with that, it gets stiff. I do what I can to loosen it up, move it around, so I can get more mobility from it."

Allen said the ankle did bother him some during Boston's Game 6 win, which helps explain why he struggled so mightily with shooting the ball.

Allen finished with seven points, but shot just 1-for-7 from the field.

"It was unstable," Allen said of the ankle. "I felt somewhat positioned; I didn't' have that comfortability, that maneuverability on the floor. Once I'm out there, I do what I can to help the team."

Arguably the greatest 3-point shooter in NBA history, Allen's presence does in fact open the floor up for guys like Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to better operate offensively.

But his presence, at least now, is very much up in the air - just like it was two weeks ago when the bone spurs became too painful for him to do anything but watch and wait for the pain to lessen.

And as far as the benefit of him missing a game, Allen doesn't know if that would be enough.

"This whole week and a half, I've been so day-to-day and I've had some great days," Allen said. "Now I'm back to where I was two weeks ago."