Stevens doesn't need a captain, he knows who leads the C's

Rajon Rondo has been the leader, or at least the best player on the Celtics since 2010. It was always hard for Rondo to be the leader with Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett in the locker room. The two players called Rondo the leader, but to be fair, everyone still looked at "The Truth", and "The Big Ticket" for leadership. For the first time Rondo is left on this island alone. This is his team, and the critics that have judged Rondo since 2008 look to be validated at some point in the next two years, as Rondo finishes his contract, and as the Celtics look to build with Rondo. Many question Rondo's ability to be a leader, and I personally believe Rondo is the type of leader that a team needs.

Rondo is confident, and maybe sometimes it comes off a bit much. Rondo wants to win, and he's going to make others better, and he will do whatever he can to win. He may not be your best friend in the locker room, but he demands the best out of you. I think the beef between Rondo and Allen is a isolated incident. Rondo has been close with KG, and Perk through the years, and even the rumored dust up between Doc seemed to be more on Doc Rivers.

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"I don’t know what the leadership roles were like last year, because I wasn’t here," said Stevens. "The guy that’s been the most vocal leader for us has been Rondo. I think he’s done a really good job of it."

Stevens reaffirmed that, unless league rules require a captain, he'd prefer to not name one. That's just his style. During his time at Butler, he only named captains twice. In his first season at the helm (2007-08) he designated his five seniors (Julian Betko, Pete Campbell, A.J. Graves, Mike Green and Drew Streicher) as captains, and four years later he tabbed Ronald Nored -- whom he brought to Boston to be part of the player-development staff -- and Garrett Butcher to captain the 2011-12 team.

But Stevens firmly believes that leaders naturally lead and that there doesn't need to be a formal designation for everyone to know that Rondo is the one guiding this Celtics squad.

I understand where Stevens is coming from, and I don't disagree with him on that, but what I do disagree with is the no team captain thing. I think the role of captain means something for the players, and for a player like Rondo, who was here for so long, waiting for his time to lead without Paul around the corner as captain. It might mean something to Rondo. I don't know if it does, and Rondo won't admit that it matters, but for the sake of it all. Stevens needs to give the title of captain to Rondo.

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