Ray Allen: Let's 'move on'

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MIAMI -- Miami Heat guard Ray Allen says he's anxious to put everything in the past after Tuesday's season opener against his former team, the Boston Celtics.

"Yeah, we can move on," Allen said after Saturday's Heat practice. "I think it's two-fold, having a ring ceremony and then playing Boston. It's like both situations, letting go of what happened last year and we can move forward."

After months of anticipation, the two teams are set to tip off on Oct. 30 in Miami. Before the game, the Heat will be receiving their championship rings.

Allen said he wouldn't let emotions get the best of him, playing against his old team.

"I'm not over-emotional," Allen said. "Just go out and get a win. I want to win the game. It's good to see my past teammates. You have to be excited about this new chapter. You just make sure that you just enjoy what you're doing and pay homage to where I've been."

Allen continued to downplay the rift between him and his former team and said that he isn't surprised by the chatter going back and forth.

"It seems like we're insular, focused on what we need to do," Allen said of his new team. "That stuff ... there's chatter between teams always. Where ever we play next, you ask us questions about the next matchup. That's just part of it."

The two sides have exchanged strong words about what transpired during free agency. On Thursday, Allen told ESPN Boston that Celtics coach Doc Rivers didn't reach out to him in free agency and express a desire to bring Allen back.

"Doc never called and said, 'We want you to come back,'" Allen told ESPNBoston.com. "I can't say I expected him to do that. It's hard to say what the protocol is in those situations."

Rivers, however, sees it differently.

In an interview with Boston's 98.5 "The Sports Hub" on Friday, Rivers said he reached out to Allen several times on the phone during free agency, but Allen never returned his calls.

"Ray was great for us, and I won't go away from that," Rivers said Friday. "Why it ended the way it ended, I really don't know. I think it was ego than anything else."

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The Heat have ended the Celtics' title chase each of the last two postseasons, but since joining the rival Heat, Allen has shared some intel on Boston's strategies.

"We talk a little bit (about Boston's strategies)," Allen said. "(I'm) making sure the guys understand position-wise, what (Boston is) looking for in certain situations on both ends of the floor. I just make sure, without being too informative, that certain guys see things before they happen."

Though Allen is anxious to face off against Boston, he says he's not where he wants to be, health-wise, ahead of Tuesday's opener, reiterating that he doesn't feel 100 percent yet. Allen underwent offseason surgery on his ankle.

"I don't (feel 100 percent)," Allen said. "I don't, but it's rare that I do. I always feel like I go as the team goes. Leg-wise, I'm still getting into that form. That's something that over the next couple weeks I get better and better at."

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Tom Haberstroh

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• ESPN.com NBA contributor since 2010
• Started at ESPN in 2008
• 2008 graduate of Wake Forest University