Ellis Expendable?

With Anthony Morrow becoming a literal focal point of the Warriors offense, Stephen Jackson getting a $28 million extension solidifying him as the unquestioned leader of the team, and Andris Biedrins playing like the team’s best player, Monta Ellis suddenly seems, I don’t know, expendable. Sure, he’s a tremendous talent, and he put up crazy numbers last year. But he can’t shoot the three very well (and, due to his injury, didn’t get to work on it this past offseason) and is an undersized, combo guard who’s not the best distributor. His strengths lie in getting into the paint and getting high percentage shots…but, that’s what Corey Maggette does, and the Warriors just gave him a fat contract too.

Look, I’m not saying that Ellis couldn’t make this team elite plugging him into the point guard spot. All I’m saying is that a shiny new $66 million contract is supposed to symbolize a commitment to a player. It demands that he be a leader. Kid already failed in that department, even lied about how it happened instead of manning up and admitting his mistake. That’s something Vladimir “Space Cadet” Radmanovic does, not your supposed team captain.

So Captain Jack has retained those reigns, and is set to retain them for the next three seasons. Now, you’ve got this Morrow kid who can shoot the lights out and plays the exact same position as Ellis. Seems to me that the Warriors would be better off looking for ways to get out of Ellis’ contract and looking to get a true point guard. Maybe offer some bucko bucks to a guy like Ramon Sessions or Raymond Felton next year. They could even go after Allen Iverson or Lamar Odom. Al Harrington’s $9.5 million comes off the books next season (unless they trade him) and knocking off Ellis’ contract would make them major players in the free agent market.

Of course, you can slice it both ways. Because of how great Ellis was last year, and due to his youth, athletic ability and work ethic, there are plenty of reasons to believe he’ll continue to get better and when added to the other blossoming players take this team to another level when fully healthy. On the flipside of that, is the fact that he is an undersized combo guard who relies on his freakish athleticism—his lighting quickness and his incredible leaping ability. Dude injured his ankle. Because he has no outside shot, his whole game is predicated on his legs.

As weird as this sounds, the Warriors might be better off without Ellis.

Westside Connection Pt. 2

-Clippers got their first win and guess who played 30 minutes? Eric Gordon. He got some time and, oh my god, he shot 50 percent and hit 3-4 from beyond the arc. Sure, he wasn’t the only reason the team got the monkey off their back, Baron did have 22 and 10 and Camby added 14 rebounds and 2 blocks. But, this is the team that we should see more and more. The one that will have the most success. Ricky Buckets still can’t seem to find his shot. And, Cat? Cuttino Mobley still got 33 minutes, but put up only 8 shots. I really don’t hate Mobley. He got some time at SF because Thornton, who had a good game, was limited by foul trouble. The team held the Mavs (minus Josh Howard) to 92 points. The defense is starting to jell, and the Clips are learning how to play with each other. The Kings, Warriors, Spurs and Thunder are the upcoming games...all very winnable. The Spurs were struggling with Tony Parker playing as the best player in the league. They’ll be without him for a month, so the Clips should have more than enough to get by San Antonio. In fact, the brutal part of their early schedule is out of the way. After the Thunder, the Clips travel to play a worse-than-expected Philly team, and Mike Dunleavy should be plenty fired up to win that game. Then they’ve got New Jersey, New Orleans, Denver and Miami. They could realistically go 7-2 which would put them back at .500. It’s going to be an uphill battle for them the rest of the way, but Baron helped lead a less talented team to the brink of the playoffs last year. Still think this team could win 45-48 games.


-The Grizzlies had a disappointing second half against Denver, a great deal of it because O.J. Mayo went stone cold after being scalding hot dropping 20 points in the first quarter where he shot 8-9 with 3-3 from beyond the arc. He still ended with 31, but only had 5 in the second half. The team just won’t be able to win if Rudy Gay shoots 4-17. Just won’t happen. One problem the team has is that Gay and Mayo fall in love with their jumper too much. Both players need to get to the basket more or work the ball inside to Marc Gasol. Gasol can’t play 40 minutes and only shoot the ball 4 times. And the jumpshot-itis is not just confined to the team’s two stars. Everyone on the roster jacks up way too many jumpshots—you just can’t win consistently like that. Even still, they held a high scoring Denver team under their season average as they’ve done with every team they’ve played this year. Defense is keeping them in it. They’re sitting at 3-4 on the season, but, tell me one person who thought they would have as many wins as the Spurs and Mavericks combined? Love Darrell Arthur’s game. A bit like a bruiser version of Trevor Ariza. They just make things happen. Ditto with Kyle Lowry. The point guards just need to learn to shoot the three. If and when that happens, this team will get a whole lot better. Q Ross was a good pickup for this team. He and Greg Buckner come off the bench and offer great defense.

-Denver looks a lot more balanced now with Chauncey, even though dude has yet to find his shot. 2-13 is putrid for any player. But the 16, 6, 10 and 3 steals is very nice. Part of the reason he couldn’t find the hoop was due to the pressure he was seeing from Mayo and Lowry and whoever, but if Chauncey could’ve hit four more shots, this game wouldn’t have been as close as it was. J.R. Smith hasn’t taken to Billups as fast as I thought he would. But Renaldo Balkman and Nene are loving him. Melo too, though he missed some absolute gimmes including a wide-open two-handed jam. Denver’s defense looks a lot better though. A lot better. They’ve got someone who can actually play defense at the one. Once Chauncey gets more comfortable with his shot and K-Mart comes back, this team will start to climb back into the race in the Northwest, though the rest of their schedule this month is tough. They’ve got the Cavs, Celtics, Lakers, Hornets and Houston, and, though people might laugh at me, I’m going to put the Clippers into the equation as well. Don't let their 1-6 record fool you. The Clips are a good team. Denver's got an uphill battle going forward, but they've added defense to a still potent offense. They are not as flashy, but they are definitely a better team. If Antonio McDyess wasn't such a baby, he could really help this squad out.

My Bear Crush on the Grizz

I like the Grizzlies. Sure, two wins, one over a struggling Warriors team and the other over a struggling Orlando team, don’t really amount to jack diddily, but, just for the record, here’s a post I wrote all the way back in July.

www.nflfootballonline.com/dodgerblue15/weblog/2882/chris-wallace-is-smart.html

After Gasol’s outbreak Monday night, 27 points and 16 boards (albeit, against the Warriors) as well as Darrell Arthur who has looked incredibly raw no doubt, but in general a beast, it’s not too hard to say that the Grizzlies are much better off after trading away Pau Gasol.

No question.

Yeah, the Lakers are the best show in any town, but the Grizz have looked very respectable. And while my generous love for Marko Jaric and slight liking of Antoine Walker (both of whom have yet to dislodge their butts off the pine) may have been on the overly optimistic side, I gotta just say toldja to all the Grizz haters of the trade.

Of course, in my preseason predictions, I felt like they would be a great offensive team and not be able to stop anyone so, can’t be right all the time, though, we strive to be more righter than everyone else at all times here at Westcoast Slant.

The Grizz are, in fact, quite the opposite. Ranked sixth in the entire league in defensive efficiency and holding their opponents to a measly 85.3 points per game for fourth best, the Grizz’ active defense and general athleticism have kept teams off balance and been the main reason behind their success. Their opponents haven't been too shabby either. SW division leaders, Houston (a game they were very much in until they collapsed in the fourth quarter), Orlando, Chicago and Golden State. Especially considering that the average age of their starters is barely old enough to drink (21.5 years).

My mans Q Ross and even Greg Buckner have added to this defensive mindset. But O.J. Mayo and Gay and Gasol have all stepped up to the plate. Darrell Arthur can mix it up too.

I’m not going to go pronounce them team of the century anytime soon, but nobody’s talking about how lopsided the Pau Gasol trade is anymore.

And, dude over at Hornets247, shut yo mouth!