Knee has Allen back on shelf

No one knows when Tony Allen will return to the lineup, and that includes Allen. He did not play last night when the Celtics took on the Bulls at the TD Banknorth Garden. When asked about his status before the game, Allen said his surgically repaired right knee was swollen, sore, and stiff. He experienced sharp pain when bending the knee and walking, never mind playing. He could not even participate in yesterday morning's shootaround.

But Allen will travel with Boston on its upcoming five-game road trip. Tuesday he will travel to Chicago for a court appearance, and believes he will be able to make it to Houston in time for tipoff that night. Still, it's doubtful Allen will be activated on the road, though neither the second-year shooting guard nor coach Doc Rivers would rule out the possibility.

Allen almost played Wednesday night against Philadelphia, but decided to take a little extra time making his return. Allen thinks the most realistic return date is Dec. 14, when the Celtics host Indiana. The Celtics medical staff told Allen and Rivers to expect such a resetting of the timetable as Allen makes the transition from full-time rehabilitation to competition. He has not reinjured the knee. And as far as Rivers knows, Allen does not need to undergo more tests. Allen simply has to work through pain without rushing his comeback.

''I've got to make sure [the pain] goes away before I come back," said Allen. ''I ain't trying to rush back. I'm just going to wait until it's all gone. When did I come to the decision [not to play]? When I could barely walk this morning. It surprised me. But they told me to expect some good days and some bad days. I'm very disappointed. I'm anxious to come back, but it might not be the right time. I'm going to go with how my body feels, instead of my mind . . . One day you're ready to come back. One day I might get up and need a wheelchair."

Allen also must regain confidence in his knee. Rivers sensed after practice Thursday that Allen might not be ready mentally or physically. Paul Pierce thought Allen looked tentative in practice compared with what he saw last season. Rivers raised the possibility that Allen may have done too much too soon.

''I've got a feeling this is how it's going to be for a while," said Rivers of Allen's status.

Allen said facing battery charges for his role in a fight that escalated into a shooting would not take away from his focus on basketball. He hopes his lawyer can keep Chicago court appearances to a minimum.

Roadwork ahead

The Celtics play 11 of their next 15 games on the road. Opinions are divided as to whether time away from the Garden will do the team good. Often times, teams spend a lot of time together on the road and bond. Theoretically, that off-court familiarity can translate to on-court chemistry, though Pierce was not exactly buying it.

''I think with this kind of group everybody is pretty young and close-knit anyway, whether or not we're on the road," he said. ''I guess you have more time on your hands [on the road]. Guys will probably go out and have lunch . . . Our two biggest walls are putting together some consistency and getting the monkey off our back on the road. It's a different mentality when you play on the road. Bounces don't always go your way. Calls don't always go your way. You have to have a different mind-set on the road, especially with the crowd against you. It's a lot tougher. We're still learning that as a team.

Meanwhile, Rivers thought the Celtics might develop an identity away from the Garden.

''I think it's never bad to find yourself on the road," said Rivers. ''You're around your teammates more [on the road] than you ever are at home. I'll put it this way, if we come back and we've done well, then we have found ourselves on the road. I don't ever see the road as that bad of a thing."

It was Doc's orders

Rivers knew exactly what he was doing when he got ejected after receiving two technicals with 5:32 left in the second quarter. Assistant Tony Brown took over his sideline duties. Rivers was protesting a no-call on an offensive goaltending by Luol Deng and a foul call against Delonte West. ''Well, I had an easy point to make, but I did want to be very emotional," said Rivers. ''I told the coaches to just let me go. Usually, they grab me. But I was going to be extremely emotional and if [they] threw me out, I didn't really care at that point. I felt we were flat." While Rivers said he got the first technical for having a discussion with one referee that was misinterpreted by another, that was not the case for the second. ''The second one I earned," said Rivers. ''I was going to get the second one. That was easy." . . . After a career-high 19-rebound performance, Kendrick Perkins grabbed just one rebound in 17 minutes 53 seconds. He did, though, have 8 points and a pair of blocks . . . Before tipoff, Delonte West posed for a photo with Chicago guard Eddie Basden. Both attended Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Md., and are close friends. ''It's like playing against my brother because our families are so close and we spend so much time together in the offseason," said West. ''We knew from Day 1, it was just a matter of time [before we played in the NBA]." . . . With the exception of the Bulls, Rivers is an avid Chicago sports fan. ''It's a pretty good time right now," he said. ''I even have my players talking about the Bears. I could never get them on the White Sox bandwagon."