Leave it to the Warriors and the Mississippi Bullet to treat the final game of the preseason like Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Ellis played the entire game (including overtime) and put up some incredible numbers: 16-30 from the field, including 2 three pointers, 7-8 from the charity stripe, three rebounds, four assists, three steals, 41 points. That doesn't sound so impressive until you realize Ellis started the game 15 for freaking 20 before sputtering down the stretch due to understandable fatigue. I’m pretty sure this broke records for minutes played and points scored in an exhibition contest—we’ll have to check back with you on that.
Of course I’m wondering like most of you why exactly Keith Smart decided to let Ellis play the entire game. I guess he’s in phenomenal shape and in the best of the health. Because otherwise this decision seems borderline absurd. Warriors fans rejoice, Don Nelson may be gone, but the wackiness is still in the arena. One symptom of wacky? The Warriors still lost to a Los Angeles Lakers team in cruise control because Ellis received scoring contributions from only Reggie Williams and David Lee.