Tony Allen looking better at practice

WALTHAM - Doc Rivers wasn't sure what to expect out of Tony Allen when the Celtics convened for their second practice session yesterday in preparation for the NBA Finals against the Lakers. When he was asked Monday about the status of Allen (strained right Achilles'), the coach said, "It doesn't look good."

Twenty-four hours later, Rivers altered his outlook.

"A miracle," the coach said. "It's a miracle."

Allen was at practice after an MRI Monday was negative, and for the first time since Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Pistons, the fourth-year guard from Oklahoma State broke a sweat, not to mention a smile.

"He was supposed to go through the beginning of practice," Rivers said, "and the next thing you know, he's dunking it and laying it in."

"It felt kind of sore, but I fought through it," said Allen, who suffered the injury eight days ago playing one-on-one in practice before Game 5. "I got a massage today, ice, [electrical stimulation]. It felt pretty good practicing today."

Asked if he convinced Rivers to activate him for Game 1 tomorrow, Allen said, "I showed him something today. I had a couple of good moves today. Hopefully, that'll win him over, but I don't know. We'll see how it goes. I had two sessions of massage therapy, ice, and stim. I came out and practiced today, and I'm going to get more treatment tomorrow and get one more practice in and I'll see."

Asked about Allen's status, Rivers joked, "He's starting."

After he stifled a laugh, Rivers added, "No, he's good. I mean, we'll find out. The tough part, now that he's practiced, is tomorrow he may not be able to walk."

From villain to boss

Although he grew up on the West Coast side of the Lakers-Celtics rivalry in Inglewood, Calif., Celtics captain Paul Pierce stirred memories when he initiated the chants of "Beat LA! Beat LA!" after Boston's clinching victory in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals.

"When you think of Boston-LA, that's one of the first things that come to mind," Pierce said. "You just remembered when the Lakers played in Boston, that's all you could hear in the stands. Even the series before, when the clock was winding down and the Celtics were clinching a berth to go to the championship, it was just like, man, I hated it at the time, but now I'm a part of it."

Asked if there was any Celtic back then he despised, Pierce said, "I mean, you always wanted to stop [Larry ] Bird, but you were like, 'Don't let him catch it.' But everybody hated Danny [ Ainge]. Danny knows this. Danny was that one guy.

"I mean, you could ask anybody who watched that series, and nobody liked Danny Ainge. I don't know what it was. You could live with Bird. You could live with [Robert ] Parish. You could live with the other guys, but everybody hated Danny.

"He was just a feisty guy who always got in your face and wanted to pick a fight with you or something and was diving at your legs, always coming up with a cheap shot."

Obviously, Pierce feels different now about his general manager. "Oh, yeah, those were just memories," he said. "But that's what you think of when you think about that."

Saunders sympathizer

The news that Flip Saunders was fired as Pistons coach prompted Rivers to reflect on his line of work. "It makes coaching not fun when you see that," said Rivers. "He's a terrific coach. I was surprised. A lot of people were not, I guess, but I was surprised about it. But it's our profession. And it's a tough profession."

It's one Sam Cassell, who played for Saunders in Minnesota, would like to get into once he concludes his NBA career. Cassell knows the occupational hazards.

"It was to be expected," Cassell said. "He knew it. Flip's an amazing guy. One thing about Flip, he'll get a job real, real soon. He's an excellent coach, man. He's an offensive genius. They didn't make the Finals [three] years in a row, and when you don't win in this league, one thing I understand is that the first one to go is the coach. He understands that."

"It's tough," Rivers said. "Our job is tough and getting tougher by the day. We have a lot of people who know more than us. That makes it tough, so that's part of it."

Forbes to audition

Gary Forbes, the University of Massachusetts swingman, will work out for the Celtics tomorrow after working out for Miami yesterday and at New Jersey today. Forbes's NBA draft stock rose dramatically after the 6-foot-7-inch, 200-pounder averaged 21.3 points in 23 minutes per game at the predraft camp in Orlando, Fla., last week. He also starred at a predraft camp in Portsmouth, Va., in April, and is projected as a late first-round pick. The Celtics select last in the first round (30th overall) and in the second round (60th). Forbes, who was projected as the 31st pick by NBAdraft.net, said it would be "lovely" to get picked by the Celtics. "I just hope to get drafted," said Forbes in a phone interview. "It doesn't matter where I go." Forbes also has a 13-team workout lined up with Golden State in addition to others scheduled with Portland, New Orleans, Minnesota, the Clippers, the Lakers, Charlotte, San Antonio, Milwaukee, and Houston. "I did pretty well for myself," Forbes said about his play in Orlando. "I definitely helped my stock a lot at that camp. I played with a lot of confidence." . . . Chris Bosh of the Toronto Raptors will be dispatched by NBC's "The Tonight Show" as a special NBA Finals correspondent . . . Former Celtics star Jo Jo White has launched a blog on the website of the NBA Retired Players Association (www.legendsofbasketball.com).

Fund-raising footwear

Kevin Garnett, the Celtics, and adidas will announce today the launch of a version of his 2008-09 Team Signature Commander shoe that will be used during the Finals and will raise money for a Boston charity. Adidas will produce only eight pairs per game to be sold at retail. One pair autographed by Garnett will be auctioned off on NBA.com after the Finals, with proceeds going to NBA Cares community partners in the Boston area.

"All season long it has been about we and not me, so as we head into the NBA Finals I wanted to do something special for the Boston community. That is why we came up with this limited edition shoe," Garnett said in a statement. "Since Day One, the fans of Boston have made me feel like family, so to do this and be able to give back to them is a great honor."

Although the shoe won't be launched on a widespread basis until October, Garnett will wear a pair with the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy on the side and the game number highlighted in green. The shoes also will bear tributes to two of Garnett's late friends, former Timberwolves teammate Malik Sealy and ex-Twins center fielder Kirby Puckett. They'll be acknowledged with "2 Malik" under the strap and "KP34" on the back.

Marc J. Spears of the Globe staff contributed to this report.