<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">OAKLAND - Not including overtimes, there are 3,936 minutes in an 82-game NBA season. That's more than 65 hours' worth of bumping, bruising and banging that exact a hefty toll on even the strongest bodies. In other words, there's plenty of opportunity for a 177-pound guard who can't even drink legally until Thursday to get hurt. At least, that's the perception Monta Ellis has to fight. After falling into the second round of the 2005 draft because of a slow-healing left knee, the soon-to-turn-21-year-old played in only three of the Warriors' first 31 games and cracked the 20-minute barrier just 17 times. In order to have the breakout year that many foresaw when he dropped 27 points on the Utah Jazz in the Warriors' 2005-06 season finale, Ellis has to show he can withstand the rigors of a full NBA season. Ellis took a step in that direction on Tuesday night, leapfrogging Dajuan Wagner and moving into the starting lineup in Golden State's 108-96 win over the Portland Trail Blazers in Golden State's next-to-last preseason game. "I think he's proven if he's healthy, he's going to play ahead of Wagner," coach Don Nelson said. "He's gonna definitely be in the rotation." How deep in the rotation remains to be determined, as evidenced by the fact that Ellis played just nine minutes Tuesday, scoring five points against three turnovers. Last season, Ellis was afflicted on occasion by pain in the knee and also a balky left shoulder that cost him critical practice time. This month, he's already missed time with a bruised thigh and the same shoulder problem. "What I've seen from Ellis is that I don't know that he can play big minutes," Nelson said. "I'd like to have him on the floor more, but I probably have to be careful of that, because he might not be able to play the next game, so he's almost forced into a (reserve) position."</div> Source
Man, no wonder he and Taft fell to the 2nd round. It wasn't really reported that those two were brittle. I mean Taft + Ellis are high potential guys, but with games full of holes for their nba position and health issues, it may be hard to get back in there over time. I know Ellis is awesome, but for point guard standards, he probably not quite there on the level of Devin Harris or Leandrinho Barbosa (mostly a shooting guard).
<div class="quote_poster">custodianrules2 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Man, no wonder he and Taft fell to the 2nd round. It wasn't really reported that those two were brittle. I mean Taft + Ellis are high potential guys, but with games full of holes for their nba position and health issues, it may be hard to get back in there over time. I know Ellis is awesome, but for point guard standards, he probably not quite there on the level of Devin Harris or Leandrinho Barbosa (mostly a shooting guard).</div> Yeah, I believe that Ellis was going to be a first round pick or something, but he had a knee injury I think that brought his stock down, which is why he fell to the Warriors in the second round. Taft fell because of lack of motivation I think, and maybe injury problems, though I am not sure about the latter. I know his motivation and attitude were question marks which saw him go from lottery to second round. I like how Don Nelson is pushing Ellis to be a big time player. I know Warrior fans don't like coaches who call players out in the media, which is evident by how many fans opposed Musselman - even though I don't think he ever called a player out like this before to the media. There is a line that stuff like this should be said in the media. I think Nelson is approaching the line. But still it is a good way to really show Ellis what the team is wanting from him. A little extra motivation doesn't kill anyone in competition - as long as the head guy knows what he is doing.
<div class="quote_poster">Clif25 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Yeah, I believe that Ellis was going to be a first round pick or something, but he had a knee injury I think that brought his stock down, which is why he fell to the Warriors in the second round. Taft fell because of lack of motivation I think, and maybe injury problems, though I am not sure about the latter. I know his motivation and attitude were question marks which saw him go from lottery to second round. I like how Don Nelson is pushing Ellis to be a big time player. I know Warrior fans don't like coaches who call players out in the media, which is evident by how many fans opposed Musselman - even though I don't think he ever called a player out like this before to the media. There is a line that stuff like this should be said in the media. I think Nelson is approaching the line. But still it is a good way to really show Ellis what the team is wanting from him. A little extra motivation doesn't kill anyone in competition - as long as the head guy knows what he is doing.</div> Hmm maybe Nelson thinks that Ellis can be pushed harder in a good way if he does it this way. More people start knowing about Ellis, they focus on him, and that motivates him to answer that call to prove he didn't deserve to be second round. Of course, second round wasn't bad considering how deep that year was. It was unbelivable. We got two potential first rounders in the 2nd round. I think that is amazing. That'd be like landing Jason Terry or Mike Miller in the second round. Even if Ellis wasn't a star or Taft never turns out to be a star, the fact we even landed them that late in the 2nd was awesome. I'd take very solid matchups versus very mediocre. I think Ellis could offer something in the Devin Harris/Leandrinho Barbosa type mold, and Taft could have provided us something like Nene/Chris Wilcox or tiny Erick Dampier or some other power forward that plays like a center.
