Monta is kind of a phony. I think I figured out what is getting to me. I don't like dishonesty. I don't care how good you are... I care how hard you try. That's just me. Maybe I'm over the NBA... I dunno. I think it bugs me more when it's a talented player, or a leader on a team. But watching Monta tonight... I have no stomach for guys who don't care or try. Tonight, first 6 minutes, two plays where Monta doesn't run back to help and the other team scores. One on a steal, Dorell Wright sprints back, defends the first attempt, but where is Monta? He is trotting down the floor half-heartedly while the other Nugget gets back for the put back. On another play, again fast break, again Dorell is there to defend, David Lee falls to the floor trying to defend... the deny the first attempt... but where is Monta Ellis? First he is lolly gagging back... then when he gets back he leaves his man wide open in the corner for the three. At this point, the sooner GS can trade Monta Ellis, the better. Now it's not even about a "bad fit." It's about a "bad player" to me. I just don't like to watch guys who aren't willing to die for their teammates. That's the way I was raised. I'd rather pay $$ to watch Dan Gadzuric dive for loose balls, lol, than watch Monta stand around, not help his teammates, and then take more f*cking shot attempts than any other player in the league. Monta is starting to = Maggette. Overinflated stats. Not very valuable to the team game. Terrible effort on D. Yeah, that sounds like Mags. Monta Maggette.
Monta had 22 in the first half -- he sure can score like crazy at times -- and yet his team was down 4 points. Monta gets pulled, in comes Reggie, and the team starts playing much better together, defending, digging in, they go up 5, end the half up 2. I'm not trying to nit pick Monta either. We all know what a great scorer he is. But a player's worth to a team should be the net impact on both sides of the ball. If you score 20, and give up 10, in reality it's a +10 impact. Well, Monta scores a lot, yes, but he gives up a lot of unnecessary bull sh!t on the other end. In the past, I would just live with that, and accept it's part of the Curry/Ellis experiment. But now, it's just effort. Monta is lazy, and kind of brain dead, on defense. Frankly, I'd rather watch Gadz dive for loose balls than Monta stand and watch while his teammates get hung out to dry. The line up that got GS back on top was Curry Williams Wright Lee Udoh Reggie looks more than capable at the SG. Up until now, I've been only wanting Monta trades that involve a defending SG... now, I'll take anything good, and Reggie can start at SG if need be... I like him there with Curry. Warriors up 2 at half time...
That got hairy in the 4th quarter, the guys wouldn't stop taking so many 3 pointers and long 2's. (And why did Smart shove Wright in early in the 4th cold, after Udoh had played good minutes before? Well, enough people have harped on how bad his rotations are. Man, we have no bench presence at all.) But it ended up with a win, despite the bad shot selection, thanks to a good run right after halftime that kept the lead up barely through the end. As far as the Monta thing, I think that almost all of us agree on trading Monta. It's weird to go to other websites and see how badly they argue to keep him. The only reason to keep him that I can understand is from a market/profitability angle, but there's no good basketball reason to keep him. But no matter how hard I wish for it, or how long (2 years now), I'm not sure if we can get good returns for him. His value is always going to be second-tier star, although he's paid accordingly to his value unlike other second-tier stars who are nearly always overpaid.
Yes, that's a good point, not like Rudy Gay, the offensive black hole who somehow was given 5 year $80 mils lol... Monta makes $11 mils per... So GS can't get a lot back contract wise, but actually, that should make him more valuable on the trade market... his numbers are high for such a modest contract...other teams could give back young players and picks, though... on a side note, Dorell Wright with a near triple double, 23 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 steals, and... 0 turnovers! And good defense in general... still can't finish at the rim though lol, but I'll take what he brings any night. Quietly becoming one of the more valuable SFs in the league, IMO, let alone most improved player....
Yeah gotta give props to DW. Hes not the best at everything but look at his production and find 10 SFs who are better. The 3 pt shooting, solid defense, rebounding, etc. Very solid, great deal. And yeah I still love Monta but hes certainly in the same category as a Granger or Rudy Gay. Wouldn't go as far as Mags at all but if we're talking former W's I'd say more like Jamison. Its interesting because as inefficient as BD was he was so clearly a cut above Jamison, Monta, Jack (when he was the man), J-Rich, etc. He'd have plenty of nights where he was awful, lazy, chucking, etc. but man even at his worst he still made teammates better. He found guys great shots, he had tremendous swagger that carried over to other players, he was a leader and he would call guys out. Obviously when he was really on he was flat out dominant but even when he sucked, played lazy on both sides of the ball, etc. I think just his presence made teammates play better.
Do not even think that Ellis is the same as Granger. Granger is someone who plays D and rebounds and scores efficiently. If Ellis was Granger I'd never consider trading him. Last night was a perfect storm for the W's, great long range shooting and a stupid Nuggets team (why go to Martin/Harrington when you have Nene with a perfect shooting night and making great passes out of the double-team?). I watch for effort and Ellis' defensive efforts are awful. Oh he goes hard for the steal, but as AlleyOop points out, that's simply for the cameras (Fitz needs to drop the "what an great effort by Monta" and be at least semi-honest about Ellis' D efforts.)
I didn't mean to interrupt the Monta haters club, but Jerry Sloan just quit. I guess all those Sloan didn't win a championship comments got to him. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=Amb4DfH_jXsWHRWO6IbEtJu8vLYF?slug=ap-jazz-sloanresignation Nope, it was a clash with Deron Williams. I rather see Deron Williams quit the Jazz. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AgD6CAulhzO2gNPgAIK4Uwy8vLYF?slug=aw-sloanretiring021011
I actually was going to mention it in the trade thread, thinking maybe Utah might consider trading some of its pieces away. Sloan probably wouldn't have resigned if he thought this team was playing up to its potential/able to win a championship this year. Williams will be a free agent in a few years, too. It's so sad that Sloan was reported to have agreed to a one-year extension then suddenly the fight and retirement news came out.
Sloan is reportedly resigning....not re-signing! I say sign him today. Throw whatever it takes at him to get him. Am I dreaming?
Now that's funny....You think he had enough of Deron, wait until you tell him to turn Monta into showing some defensive effort. Yeah right.
Ha, ya, but it's not tough to get guys to run his system. They're out there, and the Warriors have the players to "downgrade" talent/altheticism to get them. Kirilenko, Battier, Nene can all be had and would look really good on a pick/roll next to Curry Lee
Has anyone told Monta to play defense? He seems to be a pretty obedient player who wants to win. If the coach came to him and said we need you to play all out every second you are on the court, then I think he would do that. But I think the message from the coach now is to try to stay on the court as long as possible. So yes he will have those stretches where he looks lazy. But who am I to know exactly if that is how Monta would act? But I don't see him as having bad attitude problems and not willing to work hard like many on this board seem to think. But yeah, the odds of Sloan coming here are most likely very slim. But who knows? Perhaps there is some possibility.
Ha ha ha ha. I just posted about Jerry Sloan here because it was a shocker to me. Not because of the Warriors trying to get him. If Sloan came here, he'd die of frustration despite his toughness. Hope things work out for him whether in retirement or another job. That clash with Deron Williams doesn't sound right either. Sloan had arguments with other star players in the past and I doubt he would quit because of that. I wonder if Utah would trade Deron Williams for Curry during the off-season if things don't work out for them? It probably would take both Curry and Ellis though and Williams may not want to sign an extension here.
Off-topic, but I watched the Cavs get right against the Clips last night. The announcers for the Cavs are hilarious. The play-by-play guy, after all this time, still calls Antawn Jamison "Antwan," as in Antoine Walker. Instead of his real name, "Antawn," as in Anton Chekhov. Meanwhile, the homer color guy is saying stuff like, when Mo Williams scores, "oh yeah baby, watch out LA, we got the dribble penetration now baby!" And when Baron Davis gets ejected, the color guy starts singing the "hit the road jack" song.
Jamison actually pronounces it like Antoine "pronounced /ˈæntwɑːn/" Ya, I always say how lucky we are to have Fitz & Barnett, although Fitz is becoming more of a homer these days.
Oh... I always thought Fitz called him "Anton." Good to know. Yeah, we're lucky to have Fitz/Barnett... Fitz may be passionate about the Warriors, but he's good at keeping it real.
I can't stand Fitz this season...he never used to bother me, but for some reason it's different now. Barnett is like a wacky old uncle that you're just used to hahah.
