MIAMI -- Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers broached the idea of giving veteran shooting guard Ray Allen a game off in order to rest his ailing right ankle. But after consulting with the team's training staff, Allen pleaded his case to stay on the floor.

"My trainers and I discussed [taking a game off]," Allen conceded, "but I really, really do not want go that route. Just put me out there and let me do the best I can."

In an interview with ESPNBoston.com's Jackie MacMullan on Tuesday afternoon, Rivers said the team was considering giving Allen a potential game off to allow the painful bone spurs in his right ankle to calm down. But after consulting with the player and the training staff, Allen might have talked his way into staying in the lineup.

"Not yet," Rivers told reporters later in the day when asked about a potential move. "We're good. Ray is Ray. We're going to just keep rolling him out there and see what we can get. When we feel like he can't give it to us, we'll go with someone else. But I think right now, you have to give Ray a fighting chance."

Rivers admitted it's not an easy decision to make, particularly with Boston already staring at a 1-0 hole in the Eastern Conference finals against the Miami Heat.

"It's just a decision you make in the game," Rivers said. "It's a tough one, but you go into the game and you watch. It's just going to be that way. It's not the easiest thing to do. It's obviously hard for Ray. I'm sure there will be a time when I take him out and he's going to be feeling great. It's just something you see.