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Ray Allen

Allen missed Tuesday's Sonics win over Atlanta with the injury, which was revealed by an MRI conducted Wednesday. He met with doctors on Thursday to get a timeline for his return. Allen will not play in either of the Sonics next two games or on their upcoming five-game road trip before being re-evaluated in two weeks.

"Obviously, we'd like Ray to be there, but if he's not, Damien, Mickaël and Earl, those guys, they have to take the minutes." Scott Cunningham/NBAE/Getty

Allen's status was still uncertain by the time the Sonics finished practicing without him. Sonics Coach Bob Hill told reporters he wasn't planning to be without Allen, though in terms of preparation for hosting New Orleans/Oklahoma City on Friday (7:30 p.m., , FSN, KTTH 770 AM), Allen's absence won't make a big difference.

"I still have a team to get ready," said Hill. "You always have a team to get ready, no matter how many injuries you have. My job is to get the whole group ready. Obviously, we'd like Ray to be there, but if he's not, Damien (Wilkins), Mickaël (Gelabale) and Earl (Watson), those guys, they have to take the minutes."

Allen's absence will change a Sonics offense that has relied on him for a quarter of its scoring this season. Rashard Lewis steps into the role of go-to scorer without a clear number two option. Luke Ridnour, Chris Wilcox and Nick Collison will all be asked to step up.

"I think our defense will be fine, but we've got to replace 25 points," Hill said. "It'll be up to me to watch and see. I've got to maybe put the ball in Rashard's hands a little bit more. I thought Weezy was great the other night in the low post and I want to keep developing that. I think I understand how we have to attack them as a team."

Tuesday's win can serve as the blueprint. Getting double-figures scoring from six players - including 29 from Lewis - the Sonics shot a season-high 55.3% from the field. As much as Allen's absence hurts the Sonics offense, it may allow the team to get other players more involved.

"It felt like we were moving the ball and just playing as opposed to trying to look for one or two guys or look for Ray," said Collison. "Sometimes we get into a rut of trying to get him off a screen two or three times and everybody's staring at him. It's all our fault. He's such a good player and he's hit so many shots that it's human nature to try to look to him to bail us out sometimes. With him out, I know it's only been one game, but we did a good job of just moving the ball and playing. Hopefully we'll continue that."

Allen missed four games each of the last two seasons, with the Sonics going 2-6 in those games. The last time he missed an extended period came when he had surgery on his right ankle before the start of the 2003-04 season, missing the first 25 games of the year. The Sonics started 12-13 in that stretch.

Allen is averaging a career-best 25.3 points per game this season, but he had been in a shooting slump before the pain from the injury became too painful to continue. His 31.2% 3-point shooting thus far would be the worst mark of his NBA career.