Nate Robinson Says Doc Rivers Was 'On Some Bulls--t' in Celtics-Lakers 2010 NBA Finals

Nate Robinson believes the Boston Celtics might have beaten the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2009-10 NBA Finals if his head coach at the time, Doc Rivers, had actually given him more playing time in the decisive Game 7.

"I played in the Finals. I didn't really get to play like that because Doc Rivers was on some bulls--t," he said on the Straight Game Podcast (49:58 mark). "I was mad because we lost by four points. I said, 'Doc, I can score four points in my sleep, bro.' I couldn't believe it. He didn't even play me that game. I was hurt watching that confetti fall and watching Kobe Bryant just enjoy… That could have been us. I was sick."

Robinson played four minutes in Game 7, recording no stats beyond missing his lone shot. For the series, he averaged 4.9 points, 1.9 assists and 1.1 rebounds in 10.3 minutes per game off the bench. His biggest impact came in a Game 4 win, scoring 12 points in 17 minutes.

Perhaps giving Robinson some more run in Game 7's 83-79 loss would have helped, though Boston could have done plenty more in the decisive matchup, including protecting the ball better (they had 15 turnovers), securing rebounds (they lost that battle, 53-40, and allowed the Lakers to secure a whopping 23 offensive boards) and keeping the Lakers off the free-throw line (they finished 25-of-37 from the charity stripe).

And of course, there was this:

It was an ugly, defensive game in general. Robinson believes he could have been the spark needed to eek out a win. It's all a moot point now, however.