Monta Ellis has played bad. Real Bad, Michael Jackson. But nobody on the Warriors seems to be worried though, at least publicly. Is Monta just slumping? Or is this something deeper? And how can the Warriors figure out a way to get Monta past this?
Marcus Thompson II reports that matchups recently have not favored the smaller Monta Ellis:
Part of the reason he struggled shooting, especially the past two games, is teams have put bigger, stronger defenders on Ellis. In Friday’s loss, in which he was 6-for-24 shooting, Ellis was defended by Bobcats 6-foot-8 swingman Stephen Jackson. Sunday, he was guarded by Utah’s Raja Bell, who earned his reputation in the league bodying up on Kobe Bryant.
Monta isn’t worried about it and neither is Stephen Curry who said:
“Everybody’s going to go through a couple tough games. But he still has an impact on the game because he draws so much attention. He’s going to find a way to get his rhythm back. That’s why he’s an All-Star candidate.”
But how long will this slump last? And have other teams figured out a way to contain Monta Ellis — length, size, and strength? With the struggles that Monta has faced against length, it would be interesting to see them run some screens for him to break free like the Pistons do (or did) for Richard Hamilton or the double screen that Curry often gets from Lee and some other big (Ekpe Udoh against the Utah Jazz last game) at the top of the key, allowing him to break free for some drives.
Will Coach Keith Smart find a way to adapt? Lets hope so.