Hustle & Flow: Monta Ellis This is a really cool article on Monta. Seven pages long! By Martin Kuz: "Seven seconds remain in the second quarter of a game against Portland when Golden State guard Derek Fisher clanks a three-pointer. A Trail Blazers forward snags the rebound and passes to teammate Juan Dixon, who dribbles downcourt toward the Warriors basket, his arms and legs a churning blur. Loping a stride ahead, Warriors rookie Monta Ellis appears to anticipate Dixon's next move before Dixon thinks of it himself. Ellis watches as the Blazers guard, stopping a few feet short of the hoop, uncoils upward and flicks a jump shot. As the ball leaves Dixon's hands, the 6-foot-3 Ellis doesn't leap so much as materialize in midair to greet it. His head almost level with the 10-foot-high rim, he swats the shot back from where it came, snapping his right arm the way a rancher cracks a bullwhip. The ball flies past Dixon fast enough to give him windburn, and before Ellis touches back down, the first-half horn blares. The Arena's 18,000 fans launch from their seats with a roar worthy of a medieval beheading, not a mere blocked shot. Yet Ellis acts oblivious to the din. His mouth a straight line, he walks across the court toward the Warriors' locker room, staring into the middle distance. He looks at peace." Read the rest here: http://sfweekly.com/Issues/2006-03-08/news/feature_1.html
Monta Ellis played at school near mine. He is a phenominal player. He is a great player. He would have been a lot better of a player if he had gone to college, though.
I remember this play. That block was nuts. It looked like a block some long athletic 7 footer similar to Kenyon Martin would have made. Ellis is just someone who is extremely quick and swift on his feet and with his hands and unlike other athletic players Ellis knows where to be and just is always in the mix to cause deflections and create turnovers. He has shown the ability to manuever near the hoop to get his shot up and in and he's just a good player. He has a good shot, and he'll get some boards too. I sometimes make myself wonder what is it that will keep Ellis from becoming a player like Tony Parker or Dwayne Wade in the NBA. I really don't see a weakness in Ellis' game besides that he is still learning how to be consistant in the NBA which is something all rookies must adjust to, and he also needs to find his way to play with this squad which seems to be something all Warriors are having trouble with. Ellis is a good player. He gets by screens so well, so many deflections, and he just has some good instincts. I am not sure how well he can be running an offense as a strict PG, as he has not been asked to do so very often. But maybe this could be one thing that could bring him down a little bit, though it may be too early to tell right now. Just talking about guards blocking shots though, I always find that the Warriors guards/wing players are good at getting up there and swatting shots away. It's not strange if Jason has a couple in a game or Baron, or Ellis, or Pietrus or Dunleavy(though he's like 6-10). I just hope that the Warriors can bring in a coach that can teach him how to play NBA basketball and be successful. Sometimes I even see him picking up some of the bad habits of Baron Davis and Fisher, and it's kind of discouraging.
I know they are different heights (5'9" vs. 6'3") -- with that in mind, Monta Ellis might have as high a vertical leap as Nate Robinson.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting dtpxcore:</div><div class="quote_post">i dont really know much about monta ellis but i do know he's hyped a whole bunch.</div> I doubt it, we got him with the 40th pick. If he was hyped he'd have been much higher.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting SpursFan10:</div><div class="quote_post">He was projected to go to the Knicks with the last pick in the 1st Round. You guys got a steal.</div> Steal? Thats for damn sure! He's the diamond in the rough, he'll blow up like Gilbert but this time we get to keep him He's already better than many of the people picked above him I think.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting SpursFan10:</div><div class="quote_post">Oh yeah, he is going to be better than Arenas, IMHO. He is going to be amazing.</div> Thing is he plays great defense and loves to play it. He said he plays defense first and the offense comes to him after that. This coming from a kid that averaged 38 pts a game in highschool. He'll be a defensive and offensive star in the future.
I like Monta Ellis. I like any player that has the potential to be both an excellent scorer and defender, and is in the position that typically makes teams play better (i.e. point guard or center/power forward). The question is he a point guard? I think he can be. He definitely seems like has the confidence without being cocky or pigheaded like some point guards can be when its their job to run the offense and set people up. He showed some games where he should have passed instead of shot, but hey he's young. At least the guy doesn't suck on defense in man-to-man D, but I question how he will develop as a point guard with so many players on the team lacking a pure point guard's mentality to run offense. Also, will his handle get better? His handle isn't as polished if you watch him use his left hand. Here's the other thing too about the Warriors and their position players. I don't really think much of the shooting guard or the wing player positions as franchise positions unless the shooting guard or small forward happen to be both phenomenal players. The true action in most offenses is mostly at a big position (even in a Tex Winter triangle offense that has a guard/forward involved a lot, you need a center). It's crucial to have anchor in the middle that can defend and is involved in the inside/outside ball movement/scoring. Unfortunately that is really hard to find such a big player that can do the inside work, pass, defend, has fundamentals and doesn't just rely on having just an nba body to get by. He does other things like rebound, defend the hoop, get deep position to score or pass, and set up the perimeter players. He has to be the strongest guy on the court and play big. Now the point guard has to be like a quarter back in football so you know he is an important guy because he's the setup man. But the quarterback needs guys to block for him so he's not under duress all the time. Same with other guys like the running back who need guys who can block for him to advance the ball a little further than just pounding it. I think in terms of that sport, the power forward and centers are like both the blockers/running backs in football. The rest of the guys have to be depended on to move quickly where they are supposed to be and catch the ball and run for yardage, but the big guys need to set the tone that affects how the perimeter players play and our last line of defense. So the Warriors in my mind are a group of players that have a quarterback that would rather carry the ball than pass, guys who can't catch or don't know the playbook, and they can't block so the Quarterback constantly has to scramble. Anyway, I digress. Monta Ellis could be a player, but we get caught in the hype so much without really seeing over time what these guys can do.
his brother is 6'8. I really hope Monta can get to 6'5-6'7 then he will be real trouble on the court offensively and can guard the bigger guys on defense.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting jzblaze:</div><div class="quote_post">his brother is 6'8. I really hope Monta can get to 6'5-6'7 then he will be real trouble on the court offensively and can guard the bigger guys on defense.</div> Extremely unlikely, I've never heard of anyone growing 5+ inches (let alone 2 or 3) after age 18. Hes 6'3 and a quarter with shoes so we'd be lucky if he grows to 6'4 in shoes. http://www.insidehoops.com/chicago-camp-measurements.shtml
Monta shows me the instincts,passing,quicks to be a first class POINT G. Alas there's a STUPID coach who just loves Fishers waste time/chuck 3's game and can't see what's actually happening in front of him. I expected Monta to be a volume shooter,a gunner,and yet he's everything else. If we'd had a rational person coaching ,Monta would be BIG news as a hot young PG.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting REREM:</div><div class="quote_post">Monta shows me the instincts,passing,quicks to be a first class POINT G. Alas there's a STUPID coach who just loves Fishers waste time/chuck 3's game and can't see what's actually happening in front of him. I expected Monta to be a volume shooter,a gunner,and yet he's everything else. If we'd had a rational person coaching ,Monta would be BIG news as a hot young PG.</div> I think we're jumping the gun a bit, but I think Ellis looks pretty good in limited minutes and his last game of the summer league was excellent. Remember he, like Biedrins, needs time. And Mullin needs time to get rid of Foyle, Fisher. We don't need guys who can't play the position they are supposed to play. As starting center Foyle would have to play beyond his capabilities. He makes Biedrins look like an all-star. Fisher just doesn't play as a pure point, and we hope Ellis can become that pure point guard despite being mainly a scorer and not playing for a larger program than high school. That position definitely requires some experience or its just a shooting guard in a point guard's body. I think Ellis will be that guy in due time. Patience right? It's not like any of us have developed rookies before or have coached one player, but has the rest of the team to worry about, plus the contracts and long term deals that somebody else signed for you.
