Monta Ellis re-signs with the Warriors

[And 1 Amare]

You guys might as well complain about Tony Parker not being able to shoot a lot of three's also, since Ellis is basically a younger (and more athletic) version of him.

POINT GUARD DUTIES
Ellis will play the point position next year, and people say that he's incapable of doing so. People don't understand that Monta isn't expected to be the next Steve Nash for us... he's on a team with a boatload of SCORERS and BALLHANDLERS. It takes pressure off of him, because his teammates can create their own shot; they're not a Kyle Korver type, where they rely on a point guard just to get an open look.

You got to understand with the Warriors offense, when they get a rebound (if they're lucky enough to even get a rebound) they run run run.

On other teams, a big man will get a rebound and the point guard will say, [i]"Hey big fella, i'm here. Give me the ball so we can bring it up court safely without guys like you turning it over"[i]. It's different in the Golden State system because as the ball is getting rebounded, all the other guards are already running down court while the big man is rebounding. Once the big man gets it, he throws an outlet pass for an easy fastbreak point. Notice this is like Bill Russell getting the dominant rebound and passing it to John Havlicek or Bob Cousy for an easy layup; Don Nelson played for those championship Celtic teams, that's where his 'Nellie-ball' system originated... from Red Auerbach.

Watch this to see the true art of fastbreaks!!!!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=aOgv-NOMLfY
^^^Now imagine that team with a big low post scorer like KG in case things slow down and they're stuck in a half court set, hahah. Biedrins/KG frontline would be beastly too lol.

Anyways, the big man can decide not to throw an outlet pass and just run the break instead. You will see 6'10" guys like Anthony Randolph running the break.




That's a 6'10" SF right there, only 19 and will be 7 feet by the time he's 21. Oh yeah and if you watched the Summer League you would have witnessed his ballhandling ability; he broke Gerald Green's ankles too hahaha.

Also you got other big men like Brandan Wright and Andris Biedrins running the break. So yeah, Ellis doesn't need to be the officiator to run a fast paced offense, and in the halfcourt he has guys like Stephen Jackson, Corey Maggette, and Kelenna Azubuike making shots and getting to the line. Ellis already knows how to score in the half court so no worries about his scoring for now.

Yeah I know I typed more than necessary, but i'm bored. The Anthony Randolph pictures were just for fun hahah.

bored bored bored.

[tsherkin]

Just to add to the whole "Ellis is better than advertised' bit...

Monta Ellis is a sneaky, crafty SOB when it comes to using screens; he's got a great handle, too.

What does this mean? It means that he can get free for a mid-range jumper basically at will.

Remember these things:

1) Kobe gets assisted on 40% of his shots, Ellis on 46%; moaning that he gets assisted on half of his baskets is foolish and belies the basic nature of a basketball game. Yes, he takes advantage of transition opportunities, catch-and-shoots and other assisted baskets wherever possible, this is just basic sense. Sorry to attack you like that, miller, but that was as weak an argument as you can find. Ellis already creates his own shot almost as much as any elite scoring guard in the league. What do you think Nellie's team does in the halfcourt? They run 5-out isolations for whoever wants it most of the time.

2) Ellis doesn't actually get involved with a lot of physical contact; while this means a lower DrawF, it also has positive implications for his longevity because he's not getting hammered as a little dude, he's sneakily getting open shots and drilling them.

3) He's not going to play point guard that much next year if Marcus Williams (a hefty, broad-shouldered 6'3 guy) pans out even a little.

And as And 1 Amare said, there are a couple of other things to consider:

1) The Warriors move the ball upcourt in transition using outlet passes as often as they can to speed things up

2) They have a alot of ball-handlers (and a promising young guy who might add to that)

3) Their halfcourt offense isn't heavily reliant on a true point guard; Davis helped because he facilitated ball movement and is a brilliant playmaker but they didn't struggle with him on the bench because they have so many options on the floor at any given time who can create for themselves and that doesn't change this year. There's some concern about the playmaking, yes, but Monta is a good passer (not a true point but an effective off-guard) and Marcus Williams is an outstanding and very willing passer.

People are underselling Ellis.

It's hard to compare him against Gordon, though; Gordon has long suffered in a terrible offense under Scott Skiles (who doesn't know Offense 101, let alone NBA-caliber offensive design), so it's difficult to get a command of his abilities. He's a lights-out 3pt sniper with outstanding athleticism and a good handle, so you have to expect that if he was put into position to succeed rather than to get contested shots, he might surprise. He is, after all, a guy who's never scored under 15 ppg and has scoring 17, 21 and 19 ppg the last couple of years (improving his FG%, generally, too). He's also a former 6MOY.

Ellis is a fantastic player who has now scored 17 and 20 ppg in consecutive seasons and has a MIP award under his belt, so these are small guards who are proving that the small guard is not simply a tool of the past but a relevant contemporary basketball strategy in the NBA.

I don't think either should be undersold at this point because they both have a strong body of work, even if their styles are different.

That leaves Deng; is Ellis better than Deng?

He's not as good a rebounder but he's both more efficient and more prolific a scorer... and instead of relying primarily on others as does Deng, Ellis is all about creating his own shot while still being quite happy and capable of working off-ball for mid-range catch-and-shoots.

Deng, by contrast, has nothing but a sickly and underdeveloped post game to go it in the event that he is required to create for himself, though he is quite adept at innovating after the catch for a quick change-of-direction dribble or step-back jumper or something. He's a crafty off-ball player who can make a move after the pass but he's not a big-time isolation guy and this is reflected in the fact that he's posted assisted FG percentages of 69%, 71%, 69% and 67%. He's improving but still about 20% more reliant on others than someone like Ellis.

For my money, since Ellis is shooting a Grant Hill-esque 50% on so the last two seasons on a steady diet of mid-range jumpers, I'm inclined to tell Deng to take a hike if I'm only looking for offense. He's better at it AND he's working harder to get his shots.

The major difference is that Deng is a good rebounder and a good defender, neither of which are especially true of Ellis, so it rounds out the comparison and makes these two guys even in my mind unless the value of isolation offense is higher than that of rebounding and D. For example, I think Golden State would value Ellis over Deng, though for my money I'd have pitched the coin they used on Maggette to get Deng because he's a better team player and oyu only need so many isolation scorers on a squad.

Anyway, the point is that people here (miller in particular) do not seem to properly appreciate Monta.