Boston Celtics Coach Doc Rivers Taints Rajon Rondo's Assists Streak

Rajon Rondo kept his assists streak going for the Boston Celtics Sunday night when he dished out 10 against the Detroit Pistons in a 103-83 NBA loss.

But many media members, especially from Detroit, are sharply critical of  coach Doc Rivers for leaving Rondo in the contest to hit the 10-assist mark for the 34th straight game. Against the Toronto Raptors the night before, Rondo had 20 assists.

But Sunday was not Rondo’s night, yet he was still in the game even when it was out of hand. But Rivers defended his move.

“You guys keep talking about it, so I figured I would give him a shot at it,” Rivers said. “It’s funny, the harder we tried the worst we got at that.”

On the one hand, Rivers is right, it’s the media that makes a big deal out of streaks, not coaches. If Rondo was sitting on the bench and the streak was snapped, Rivers would have been severely criticized.

On the otherhand, Rivers went out of his way to make sure Rondo extended his streak. It was a lousy offensive performance for the Celtics and probably the right time for Rivers to bench Rondo and end the streak.

Boston’s guard Courtney Lee, himself, hinted why it seemed ridiculous to keep Rondo in the game.

“He didn’t get 10 assists until late in the game. Jared (Sullinger) helped him out big time,” Lee said. “That is how it goes, some nights you are on and some nights you are off.”

Rondo was off this night and his streak should have end. Rivers made the wrong move and deserves heavy criticism for it.