Allen, Pietrus undergo surgery

By Chris Forsberg | ESPNBoston.com

Surgery buddies: Mickael Pietrus and Ray Allen underwent surgery Wednesday.
Celtics guards Ray Allen and Mickael Pietrus both underwent arthroscopic surgery Wednesday morning at New England Baptist Hospital, according to the team. Both surgeries were completed by Celtics team physician Dr. Brian McKeon and assisted by Dr. Mark Slovenkai.

Allen went under the knife to remove bone spurs in his right ankle that plagued him from mid-March to the end of the season. Allen missed 15 of the final 20 games of the regular season, and the first two games of the postseason, before grinding out Boston's final 18 playoff games. He averaged 14.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.4 assists over 34 minutes per game during the regular season. Allen shot 45.3 percent from 3-point range, which ranked fourth in all of the NBA this past season and was a career-high, besting his previous career-high (44.4 percent, set last season).

Allen was noncommittal about his future and a potential return to Boston after Saturday's Game 7 loss in Miami. He said surgery was his priority.

"That's my first priority, just going into surgery sometime," said Allen. "If I can do it tomorrow, I would do it tomorrow. That's probably my main concern right now, is taking care of that. My body feels good. That's been my only issue. After that, it's hard to say."

For the second straight offseason, Pietrus underwent surgery on his right knee. The original procedure, while still a member of the Phoenix Suns, forced him to miss the first eight games of the 2011-12 season as he rehabbed. The knee flared at times during the 2011-12 season, particularly in periods of heavy activity, and seemed to affect his offensive consistency. Pietrus averaged 6.9 points and 3.1 rebounds over 21.9 minutes per game during the regular season.

Said Pietrus back on May 14: "(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. I look forward to the summer -- after the parade."

Pietrus expressed an interest in returning to the Celtics next season and, by getting the procedure done this early in the offseason, it gives him a better chance of being completely healthy for the start of training camp.

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