NBA All-Star Ray Allen to Miss Rest of Season

Ray Allen, star guard for the Seattle Supersonics will have surgery on his left ankle and miss the rest of the season.

Allen has been having trouble with his ankle for over a month now and decided to proceed with surgery before the injury gets any worse. He has been experiencing problems that are complications from bone spurs. The decision to proceed with surgery was the choice of Allen and the Supersonics organization.

Allen had been having one of the best seasons of his career before the injury. He has averaged 26.4 points per game to go along with 4.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists. Allen is a seven time NBA All Star and was selected to the team this season. He has played in 55 of the Sonics 68 games this season and had a scoring explosion against the Utah Jazz in January when he notched 54 points.

Another factor that could have influenced the decision to proceed with surgery might be that the Supersonics have almost no chance of making the playoffs. If they were in a position to make a playoff run, Allen would most likely be staying in the lineup and toughing out the rest of the season. As of Sunday, the Sonics are 27-41 and are in second-to-last place in the Western Conference. They are six games out of the eighth and final playoff spot and it is nearly impossible for them to make up that much ground before the regular season ends. Especially now with the loss of Allen for the remainder of the season, the Sonics seem to be throwing in the towel.

The goal will obviously be to get Allen healthy again as he is without a question the best player on the team. He has arguably the best jump shot and is the best pure shooter in the NBA. Allen also is a great all around player, as he is averaging over 4 assists and rebounds per game and is not always remembered for these contributions. With 11 seasons of NBA experience under his belt, Allen is still looking to be at the top of his game. He will without a doubt be a Hall of Famer after he retires and will continue to be one of the best players in the league for years to come. For now though it looks as if fans will have to wait until next year to see Allen in action again.

Cited:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2812284

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/ray_allen/career_stats.html