One of the greatest things about the Golden State of Mind link dumps immediately after the game is the video coverage. In case you couldn’t watch the game, IQofaWarrior will post a video, in case someone made one, from youtube that comprehensively distills all the greatest moments from the game into a tight 5 minute package. What’s so great about that? You don’t have to witness the 3rd and 4th quarter meltdowns in their entirety. In fact, with videos like this, you never even notice that the Warriors almost let this one get away since you’re too busy jaw dropping to the amazing Stephen Curry highlights. I would focus on that if I were you. For comprehensive linkage of last night’s win of the Toronto Raptors, click here. If that isn’t enough, catch the Golden State of Mind recap of the game.
One of the strange stats to pop up from last night’s game is Monta Ellis’ +/- rating. I hate to bag on a dude who literally sacrificed his body last night to help close out the win. But Ellis has the worst +/- ranking among the starting 5 with a -4. Stephen Curry was a +13.
I’m not bringing this up to instigate anything. But for anyone who watched last night’s game could see how despite the monster stat line by Ellis, his shot selection or shot conscious disappeared with Curry when Curry sat out for rest or for his ankle.
Perhaps Ellis felt it necessary to put the team on his back early in the fourth quarter when the Raptors starting mounting their lead and Curry sitting out to rest. But Ellis had a team high 6 turnovers and several came during this time on either a few questionable charge calls and poor drives into traffic (like the questionable no-call which Ellis landed awkwardly).
Ellis reverted back to the seemingly “selfish” Ellis of last season, in the fourth quarter dribbling out the clock on several occasions for circus-shot drives, which many of them went in. He, too, was relatively efficient from the floor (10-17) and the line (7-9). But during that brief stretch without Curry, it almost looked as if his teammates didn’t exist.
When Curry checked back in and suddenly took it upon himself to save the Warriors, scoring on an amazing array of floaters in the lane through nifty dribble hesitation and penetration, Ellis played the willing shooting guard, allowing Curry to set him up for a few easy buckets.
I’m not sure what it is, but perhaps this is a reflection of Ellis’ trust in Curry that he might not have with his teammates, fully, in Curry’s absence. Hopefully Ellis’ injury is negative.