Did you watch the game against the Phoenix Suns and think Rajon Rondo was a step slow? Well, it took coach Doc Rivers a viewing of the game tape to see that Rondo was hampered by his injury.

Via Mark Murphy, Boston Herald:

“My guess right now is that he won’t play (tonight), unless something happens where he feels a lot better,” said Rivers. “He’ll have to tell me he can really go.”

Judging from the Phoenix game tape, that’s unlikely.

“I watched the film and I thought he didn’t play well at all. Even though he got to the game and he played fantastic in some ways, he took a lot of shortcuts because of the injury,” said Rivers. “It hurts him and it hurts us too. I would rather just get him back to being normal Rondo.

“We have this game and then we have a three-day break. He didn’t practice yesterday, he didn’t practice today, doesn’t play (against Toronto) and then he doesn’t play for three more days, we have a chance to have him 100 percent. I just don’t want this to be a lingering thing.”

Sometimes, coaches have a different perspective than the average fan, but it was clear to me that Rondo was being shut down by Steve Nash, a poor defender Rondo usually torches. I think the smart, safe move is to rest Rondo tonight because our roster is already depleted and we need him to return fully healthy.