It's going to be up to Monta Ellis to try to bring this Warriors thing together

November 27, 8:58 AMGolden State Warriors ExaminerMatt Steinmetz

Previous Next

7 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Golden State Warriors Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Monta Ellis: Can't return soon enough 

I’m not sure that I would say there is hope after the Warriors’ 119-111 loss to the Celtics in Boston on Wednesday.

But their performance was certainly better than Tuesday night against Washington.

Both Stephen Jackson and Corey Maggette had big scoring nights, but it still wasn’t enough. That’s worrisome even if the opponent was the defending World Champions.

Here’s the real question: How much is Monta Ellis going to help upon his return?

Will he just be another scorer to throw onto the heap, along with Jackson, Maggette and Jamal Crawford?

Pick two of those guys’ names out of a hat and maybe they’ll be the ones to lead you in scoring on a given night.

Point is this: I don’t see those four players scoring consistently _ or even contributing consistently _ over an extended stretch.

How can they?

There won’t be enough of an opportunity for each one of them during the course of a game. Two or three guys are going to get shots one game, another couple the next and so on and so on.

And then we get back to scorers on the floor who aren't scoring.

The Warriors don't need another scorer; they need a catalyst.

It was clear from the Washington and Boston games that the Warriors are trying to figure out how to incorporate Crawford’s individual offense into the team’s offense.

Or, more succinctly, whose shots are Crawford going to take?

But the same adjustment will likely come in the next month or so when Ellis returns. Again, the Warriors will have re-calibrate the shot chart, this time allowing for at least 15 more FGAs from Ellis.

But 15 shots alone from Ellis aren't necessarily going to make the Warriors a better team. Much of it will have to do with what Ellis does when he's not taking those 15 shots.

Is he the kind of player capable of making teammates better? Or is he just a big-time scorer and scorer only?

Hopefully we'll start finding out pretty soon.