Ray Allen's injured ankle continues to be a major problem, and it now looks like he won't be in action when the Boston Celtics begin their 2012 NBA Playoffs series against the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday night. Via WEEI's Paul Flannery:

Allen will make the trip to Atlanta, but it's looking less and less likely that he'll be able to play.

"Honestly I don't think he'll play [Sunday]," Doc Rivers said. "We'll find that out. He's just not moving well."

Allen is in so much pain that he admitted he would get surgery "tomorrow" if the playoffs were not on the horizon. Instead, he is holding out hope that his ankle pain will be manageable enough for him to make some sort of contribution in this series. We'll see if things improve by Sunday.

Allen had already given up his starting job to emerging second-year guard Avery Bradley, so the starting lineup won't be affected. However, the second unit will miss Allen's offense tremendously.

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