Celtics chase Rondo’s assists streak in blowout loss to Pistons

Rajon Rondo had a streak of 33 consecutive games with 10 or more assists coming into Sunday’s game against the Pistons. He left with that streak intact, although making it happen came under some questionable circumstances.

The Celtics were in the middle of getting blown out by a Detroit team that had won just once in its first 10 games this season, down 18 midway through the fourth quarter, when Rondo was left in the game and the team did all it could to make sure the streak continued.

From Greg Payne of ESPNBoston.com:

When it was clear victory was not an option, the Celtics focused on getting Rondo to 10 assists to continue his pursuit of John Stockton and Magic Johnson. Rondo entered the final frame with just six helpers, and it took him nearly the whole fourth quarter to reach double-figures. After Boston came up empty on a handful of its final possessions, Sullinger finally knocked down a straightaway jumper with under a minute left to secure Rondo’s record. He’s now recorded double figures in assists in 34 straight games and is steadily closing in on Stockton’s record of 37 consecutive games, and is slowly gaining on Johnson’s all-time record of 46.

Rondo’s last four assists came with under six minutes to play in the game, with his team trailing by 18, 19, or 21 points as each of those last assists were recorded. The final one came with just 51 seconds remaining, when the result was no longer in doubt.

Are we OK with this?

Players have been criticized heavily for valuing individual accomplishments over the team’s success in the past, especially when doing silly things to try to get a final rebound or assist to record a triple-double. This doesn’t feel any different, and in fact might be worse considering it couldn’t have happened without the coach’s cooperation.

No one’s going to remember this if Rondo does set the record for consecutive assists, but it’s a little odd to see a team coached by Doc Rivers pull a stunt like this at the end of a disappointing and lopsided loss.