Some NBA analysts questioned why Rondo was in a 20-point blowout to keep his assists streak alive.
Boston Celtics' Rajon Rondo arrives at the ESPY Awards on Wednesday, July 11, 2012, in Los Angeles.
The Boston Celtics trailed the Detroit Pistons 98-79, and they were going to lose. Head coach Doc Rivers called a timeout with 1:38 left and admitted as much to his players, and then he did something sure to cause at least some level of uproar:
According to CSNNE, Rivers explained after the Celtics completed their 103-83 defeat, "I said, 'guys, we're going to lose the game by the way.' Let's not play crazy, but if we can get (Rajon Rondo) two more (assists), let's do it. If not, that's it. First time we've done that."
At that point, Rondo needed just one more assist (not two) to reach 10 assists for the 34th straight game. Jason Terry missed an open 3-pointer shortly after the timeout that would have put Rondo into double-digits, but Jared Sullinger saved the streak with a 21-foot jumper off a Rondo pass with 0:51 left.
A number of NBA writers and analysts thought the obvious attempt to save Rondo's streak was classless:
The streak continues... shamelessly.
— John Schuhmann (@johnschuhmann) November 19, 2012
The way the #Celtics left Rajon Rondo in to the bitter end of a blowout loss tonight just to force feed him a 10th assist feels icky.
— Scott Souza (@scott_souza) November 19, 2012
No doubt in my mind that if Rondo was stuck on 9 right now, they'd be intentionally fouling. To get a few more possessions in.
— Haralabos Voulgaris (@haralabob) November 19, 2012
People mocked Andre Blatche and Ricky Davis for trying to get triple doubles late, this is just as bad if not worse IMO.
— Haralabos Voulgaris (@haralabob) November 19, 2012
Haralabos Voulgaris, a famous NBA gambler, was referring to Davis throwing the basketball at the wrong hoop to try getting his 10th rebound for a triple-double.
I didn't take huge offense to either Davis' or Blatche's triple-double attempts, but here's the difference between theirs and Rondo's: Davis' team was ahead by 25 points. He was rubbing it in against a team getting smacked. Blatche's situation was similar. The Washington Wizards were ahead by 10 points with 20 seconds left when he did anything in his power to try getting his 10th rebound.
Rondo's team trailed by 20. He wasn't rubbing salt in any Pistons wound by going for his 10th assist -- they were going to win by plenty of points anyway. You can certainly debate whether a streak is important enough to leave an All-Star point guard on the court in the final minutes of a blowout (ask the Patriots how playing stars in garbage time can turn out) and whether doing so somehow breaks unwritten basketball integrity codes (whatever those are), but the Celtics' stat-padding wasn't the same as what Blatche and Davis did.
If Rivers, one of the NBA's good guys, thought encouraging Rondo's streak was in any way wrong, he would not have done so against former Celtics assistant coach Lawrence Frank, now Detroit's head coach. Afterward, the Associated Press reported that Frank "laughed off" the streak-chasing.
”I guess the basketball gods were on his side tonight,” he said. ”I wasn’t worried. I just know he’s a great basketball player.”
Rondo downplayed the streak but said it will soak in once he has time to reflect.
"I'll look back on it one day and realize what I'm doing," Rondo said. "I'm upset we lost, but the streak is alive. It is what it is. I don't think much about it. I'll look back one day and realize what I've done."
"I didn't really watch it when Stockton (was playing), and I don't think I was born when Magic was (setting records)," he continued. "It's been a long time since this type of streak has happened. It's a great honor. It's a credit to my teammates."
Rondo also came under some fire for passing up open layups for assist opportunities. But that's nothing new. Rondo's the type of player who probably thinks about passing in layup lines. Before saying he's passing too much to keep the streak alive, people should remember two things:
1) The streak has been alive this entire season.
2) Rondo is scoring more points (13.2 per game) and shooting more shots (10.9) than he did in any season except 2009-10.
It was in real jeopardy, but the streak moves on. And the next time Rondo has nine assists in the ninth inning of a game, don't expect a pinch-hitter.
(The Celtics blog Red's Army first noticed some of the anti-streak-chasing tweets)