I'm sorry. He's mighty mouse. Superman. Doing almost everything. But his defense has been ass-cheese lately. I really think it's just his defensive instincts suck. That was embarrassing against NO last night. He doesn't always run back on D, which is a pet peeve of mine. He'll miss a shot, his guy will leak out, but then he won't even make an effort to run the court, and catch up. He frequently stands and reaches instead of moving his feet. Chris Paul would just waltz around him repeatedly. He doesn't box out, or see his man on rebounds. He just stands and stares at the backboard to see where the ball will go. At least Curry turns his head, finds a man, and reaches his arm back to make "connection" -- the start of the boxing-out process. Monta doesn't ever do that. Okay, so he doesn't rebound. But boxing out is DEFENSE -- it is about limiting offensive rebounds. Even if you aren't going to get the board yourself, at least pretend like you have some kind of defensive presence, instead of standing on the perimeter like a spectator and let the offensive team hop into the lane for an easy put-back. Drives me nuts. Monta is also poor at seeing ball-man. How many times to guys just sneak back door on him for an easy layup? He gets caught mentally "asleep" far too often on junk like that. Now I love the guy. And I know he needs to "conserve" his energy in order to play 40 minutes. But there is no excuse for this. Yes he scores alot, but if you set that aside, and just evaluate defense...Monta's defense has really hurt GS lately. People talk about needing to get better bigs to defend, but there's a reason why, no matter who is in the game for us, our bigs get hung out to dry repeatedly. It's not a coincidence. Our perimeter is paper thin and they reach and stand and watch and constantly allow easy penetration. It's a fracking joke, really, our perimeter defense. I'd hate to be a big on this team. Yes, I love Ellis' scoring, but --in a heartbeat-- I'd take a downgrade in scoring for an uprgrade in some f'ing perimeter defense and basic common sense and care on the defensive end. A guy who will get back, see the ball-and-man, keep his man in front of him, and box out. Damn, is it really that hard? That's why I'd do Monta / Iggy+equalizer. Monta's value can't possible get much higher. But neither can his value to the team. And it's not like we're 30-15 right now. I mean, there's a reason why GS is like the worst defensive team in the league. And I'll give you a hint... it's not the bigs...
I wrote almost the exact same thing here about 20 games ago. Its agonizing watching the lack of simple things, finding someone to box out, getting back.
Here it is: http://sportstwo.com/threads/177093-My-View-of-Monta-s-D What did you plagerize my thread man?
Yeah, his defense is shitty....but he has carried this team on his back this year. I don't know why he gets the majority of the criticism. 4 out of our 5 starters play pretty awful defense.
You took the words right out of my mouth I Hate Warriors. Yeah Monta's defense is god awful but everyone's on the whole team is besides Wright (perhaps you can throw Udoh in there but he doesn't play much and hes a rookie). Monta does make a ton of defensive errors but I wouldn't single him out when Curry, Lee, and Biedrins make just as many dumb ass mistakes on defense. Like you mentioned Alley Oop, obviously its not the front line's fault when Monta blows a coverage and Lee/Biedrins have to foul...but then again Lee and Biedrins aren't doing shit on defense anywhere. The most pressing concern is to add a team defense philosophy of some kind but secondarily we can't have both lines of defense be horrid. If you want Monta/Curry and their shitty defense the only chance you might possibly have is to load up on bigs who block shots and play good help/weak side defense. If you want Lee/Biedrins or some other shitty defensive front line then we better get some guards who can stay in front of their men. Bottom line is just what I Hate Warriors said though. 4 of 5 starters are awful defensive players. And all of our "big 3" are awful defenders. Thats just not going to work.
Why am I singling out Monta? Because he is the team leader, of course. You set the tone at the top. If your leader makes careless mistakes, and doesn't show improvement on those careless mistakes, what kind of tone does that set for the rest of your team? True leaders take it upon themselves to set the standard of excellence for the rest of the team. You don't have to be the best defender in the world, but you have to show your team that defense is a priority, that hustle and and hardwork are priorities. Of course, I can point to MJ. Or Kobe. Or Lebron. Or Chris Paul. The true great NBA players take it upon themselves to do it on both ends. But how about a guy like Jerry Rice? He was the best by a mile, yet he was also the hardest working player in practice, the most meticulous, the most dedicated. Heck, if Rice was given a chance to play defense, he would've been the best DB on the Niners, too... I prefaced my post by saying Monta has been doing everything for the team. And of course we all know this. We know how special he's been. How amazing. This post isn't to say he is a bad player, lol. This post is to say that his terrible defense is absolutely inexcusable, not because he's some bench scrub, but because of that very reason that he's our best player!. He's the leader. So deciding not to run back on defense, or standing lazily and reaching... I'd expect it from a guy like Charlie Bell. But from Monta...it's just a plain embarrassment.
I completely agree with you in those traits that a leader should have. But I don't think Monta should be the leader. I don't think anybody thinks that he can be the #1 guy on a team that's gonna do any damage post-April. I could be wrong here, but I don't think he's asked for or persued that role, and I don't think that label really bothers him. I feel like, seniority aside, you could argue that David Lee is the team leader. He's the most vocal, and seems to have a good work ethic. I'd like Steph to step up and take the role of the leader. Anyway, Monta MIGHT be our leader, but he shouldn't be. I've never been a huge Monta supporter, relatively speaking of course...but for some reason, this season I feel like I'm always jumping to his defense. I don't know how I feel about that. He is far from a complete player, but he is the most legit all-star caliber player that we've had in over a decade, except maybe Baron. He continues to exceed expectations each year, and he has yet to plateau...he seems to always add something, this year the 3 ball, and lets not forget, A MAJOR improvement in attitude. Defense is about will, not skill...I truly believe that if he decides defense is important to him, he can be more than proficient (despite any 'strength' issues). I am a HUGE fan of players that defend and rebound, first and foremost. Monta is definitely not strong in either category. But defense and rebounding can be most greatly improved through an improvement in team philosophy and execution...and Monta really isn't a bad rebounder for a guard. Anyway, the point i'm trying to make is: all things said and done, Monta has been our MVP this year...no doubt. There are MANY holes on this team, but Monta seems to get more than his fair share of the criticism. He gets paid $11m/yr every year for the rest of his contract, and that's a BARGAIN. The good he does outweighs the bad, and I still think he's improving. If we can trade him and end up with a top-15 player or a proven big man, then fine. Other than that, we have bigger fish to fry at the moment.
Oh, yeah, I'm not disagreeing with any of that. I'm just saying, his defense sucks. And it's embarrassing.
Another note: Steph and Lee have physical disadvantages that hinder their ability to play good defense and often its the reason they make mistakes/fouls. You can be an average/below average athlete and be a good defender but it certainly helps to have athleticism on your side. Monta on the other hand is a spectacular athlete. Yes, hes small for his position but we really don't see him get muscled all that much besides against Kobe and Joe Johnson. With that quickness he should be able to stay in front of his man and thats half the battle. Its definitely a major concern that among all the additions to his game hes yet to settle down defensively and just play honest defense as opposed to looking for steals constantly and letting his man go right by him. I think we saw a glimpse of him really focusing on defense last season when he had some great outings on both sides of the ball. His defensive performances on Brandon Roy and Kevin Durant come to mind. But it seems like that's all been forgotten and he might be worse than ever now. Even back when he was paired with Baron and matched up with PGs I don't think he gambled nearly as much, probably having to do with his being a young player and subordinate to BD, Jack, Nellie, and a host of others on the team. Now hes the man and he can pretty much do whatever the hell he wants and not get yanked. In fact its very reminiscent of the BD era when Nellie had a short leash on most guys but Baron could freely roam around trying to go for steals and leave his man open for long periods. Monta isn't roaming out there but he certainly gambles too much and IMO if he stayed honest on defense he could be a pretty good defender against most SGs (Kobe, JJ, etc. obviously would still be a problem).
The problem is the lack of depth at the guard position. I've never played 40 minutes of basketball per game, and neither do most players in the NBA or the world. But I think the amount of minutes he is expected to play each game and a lack of reserves worth using to sub Monta out are the big reasons why these things will continue to go on. When Lou was getting starters minutes, his energy fell because he was trying to conserve his energy for the whole game. Keith Smart noticed this change, didn't like it because he wants Lou to be that energy guy, so he put Lou back into a more limited role. I think if Keith Smart would (and perhaps could) tell Monta, we need you to go all out on all sides of the ball and court and don't worry about energy because we have some decent quality bench players behind you, then perhaps we would see more energy, defense, and rebounding from Ellis. But right now for Ellis, it's probably more like "conserve" energy and stay out of foul trouble to stay on the court mode. Definitely think that a new coach in charge of defensive schemes could really help too. That's been Smart's job for a while and there's no improvement there. It just seems like they continue to be the laughing stock of the league on that side of the ball. How does one team give up +60% FG% in a game? That's bad. I think the same about Ellis may be true for Dorell Wright as well. The team needs a backup SF. With Vlad as the backup PF, we see Wright in the game the whole time. Lets get these players some rest, so they don't have to feel so alone.
I wouldn't just place the poor defense on Monta, too. Monta is Allen Iverson with an outside shot, so we'll have to live with it. We'll have to live or die based on what happens when you put the ball in his hands. Second option is Curry and Lee, but neither are good defensive players either. We can't expect to be the San Antonio Spurs or Boston Celtics team the way we are built. Basically, we're a run and gun team, so you can't expect that kind of defense. I'm one for playing the cards you are dealt. Just like you take what the defense gives you. Where I would try to build our defense would be with the center position in trying to get a big man who can rotate and clog the middle. Biedrins isn't that guy. Udoh doesn't appear to be the answer either from what I've seen so far. Udoh could replace Biedrins, but he's more someone who can backup Lee or the center position right now. Instead, I would target Kendrick Perkins, DeAndre Jordan, Anderson Varejao or Roy Hibbert assuming he ends up in Jim O'Brien's doghouse. Second, we have DWright, so I would try to get a big SG who can play defense for the bench. Someone like Ronnie Brewer as another guy who can play the perimeter. Then you have guy you can put in stretches when you need a stop and relieve Ellis. Same with David Lee with Udoh. I assume we got Acie Law to back up Curry for defensive purposes.
Ellis is basically a Gilbert Arenas, TMac, or Vince Carter right now. I think only later in his career will he actually start trying to play it (like Ray Allen and Pau Gasol)
This talk about "conserve energy" and "too many minutes" are excuses. You ever hear the great ones talk like that? No. Guys like MJ, Bird, Russell, Chamberlain, Magic, Isiah, never talk like that. Effort should never be optional. Coaches should not stand for it, teammates should not stand for it, fans should not. We're talking about laziness folks. Perfect example, end of 3rd quarter against the Bobcats on Friday night, Bobcats fire up shot at buzzer and it misses but wait....Monta does not find the ball or his man on the weakside (which is where 80% rebounds go) and Monta's man gets an easy follow. That's pure laziness. I'll say the same thing about Curry as well. He thinks D is reaching for steals. That's laziness as well. You play D with your feet, not your hands. The whole D mindset of the team sucks. No one understands how to play. Dorell makes silly fouls as well.
Posted this in the Suns thread, but man... Terrible defense against the Suns. Monta is kind of a phony out there. His defensive instincts are nil. The guy just doesn't seem to care. It's weird -- his defensive behavior is that of a prima dona superstar who doesn't have to play defense because he's above it. I don't think he wants to come off that way, but he does. I mean, he has NO ability to see ball-man. He just stares at ball. Go back and watch this game. Monta just stands and watches Steve Nash -- meanwhile, his man, Jared Dudley, or Grant Hill, is completely hiding behind him, to cut back door, or crash in behind him for a rebound. In transition, when you have to read the floor and "pick up" the unguarded man, boy is he awful at this. Just comes down, nonchalantly lolly gagging, half-heartedly picks up whoever is unguarded...kind of... watches Steve Nash some more... pass goes right by Monta's knee... he kind of flips his hand out there... meanwhile, the guy he was just guarding sliped behind him for a wide open shot... There's a reason Monta is not an all-star. His defense is absolutely horrendous. All he has is quickness and steals, when he chooses to use that quickness... but that's only if there's a chance for a fast break... he's always leaking out early, or standing to watch his teammates do the dirty work inside... I'm sorry but I could go on and on here... Go back and watch the 1st half when Jared Dudley first enters the game... First play, he just walks right behind Monta's blind ass for an easy baseline shot. I mean, I don't have an NBA body, I'll tell you right now there's no way you're sneaking back door on me uncontested. Seriously, wtf is that? That's weakness is what it is.
Yup, it's bad as it is that Monta is physically incapable of matching up against a 40-year old Grant Hill, the fact that he is not exhibiting any semblance of sound defense is...disturbing.
I'd question who put 6-8 Hill with 6-3 Ellis, especially when the guy is posting up and scorching the Warriors.
