Celtics all right with Avery out

BOSTON - The 76ers appeared to gain an advantage even before tipoff for Monday's pivotal Game 5 against the Boston Celtics.

Starting guard Avery Bradley was unavailable, nursing injuries to both shoulders. Twice so far in the series Bradley has had a shoulder pop out of its socket.

His place in the starting lineup was taken by Ray Allen, who began the season at that spot but was replaced by Bradley midseason when Allen sprained an ankle. Coach Doc Rivers liked the defensive presence that Bradley brought and decided to leave him in the starting lineup, having Allen come off the bench to provide offensive spark.

In 31 minutes in Game 4, when the Sixers roared back from an 18-point, third-quarter deficit, Allen played 31 minutes and was a minus-24.

In Game 5, Allen scored five points in 33 minutes.

The question has plagued the 76ers all season and was asked endlessly as they continued to lose close games throughout the season: "Can the team win without a go-to player?"

The question is certainly legitimate, as the NBA is a star-driven league and the Sixers entered the season without one. But is one emerging during this playoff run? Could be, and close your eyes Sixers fans because that player is Andre Iguodala.

Game 6 against the Chicago Bulls, with the team down a point and 2.1 seconds remaining, it was Iguodala who was fouled driving the ball to the basket. He sank both foul shots, propelling the Sixers to their first playoff series win since 2003.

Then Friday night, after the Sixers trailed by 18 points in the third quarter, Iguodala played an integral part both offensively and defensively in leading the Sixers to their improbable, series-tying win. On defense, he limited Paul Pierce to just two shots in the fourth quarter, while providing heroics at the offensive end by giving the Sixers a two-point lead with an 18-foot, step-back jump shot with 1 minute, 22 seconds left. Then, with just 36.9 seconds on the clock, Iguodala drained a three-pointer that gave the Sixers an 88-83 lead, virtually sealing the victory.

"He's very smart, he's long, he's quick, he's strong," said coach Doug Collins of his All-Star. "He gets in the passing lanes very well. I think the big thing is you have to embrace the personal challenge. You have to be willing to know that you're playing against guys who are capable of throwing up 35- or 40-point nights and they're going to score. Early in the year, we played the Lakers and Kobe [Bryant] had 24 at the half. We fought and fought and I think he was 1-for-10 in the second half and we wound up winning. When you're playing those kinds of offensive players who are capable of having those nights, you just have to keep playing and playing. That's what we try to do as much as we can and when they get Paul out of there we try to get Dre out of there and get him some rest."

At Monday's shootaround, Sixers coach Doug Collins said that he needed to get Lavoy Allen on the court even earlier as he looked to match his minutes with Kevin Garnett. Collins still started ailing Elton Brand, who is trying to battle through neck and shoulder pain but had a productive Game 5, with 19 points. Allen was inserted with 5:46 to go in the first quarter for Spencer Hawes and produced four quick points.

"I have to get Lavoy into the game a little bit sooner," said Collins. "Just because he can guard Kevin as much as possible and then when Doc [Rivers] takes him out maybe I can take Lavoy out and then come back with him. It's not like Lavoy is the KG stopper or anything, but he is a guy who puts some strength on him and does a pretty good job with him."

The Sixers have scheduled five more players to work out for the team Tuesday in preparation for next month's draft and perhaps for July's summer league in Orlando.

The five working out Tuesday: Temi Adebayo, a 7-foot center from Philadelphia University; Tu Holloway, a 6-foot point guard from Xavier; Darius Johnson-Odom, a 6-2 shooting guard from Marquette; Herb Pope, a 6-8 forward from Seton Hall; and Ricardo Ratliffe, a 6-8 forward from Missouri.