Who Is the Guy Known As Monta Ellis?

Don Nelson would have something else to say about that. Monta immediately found himself in Nelson's dog house against the Mav's. Monta struggled to guard the more physical and experienced Jason Terry and Jerry Stackhouse. Nelson knew that and rotated Matt Barnes and Jason Richardson in the lineup more often.

The Warriors ended up stunning the world by taking down the Mav's in six games becoming only the second No. 8 seed to beat a No. 1 in the last ten years.

Still Monta's confidence was shook. The Warriors went out in five games against the Utah Jazz and set up a big off season for the Warriors.

But Don Nelson is an excellent motivator. Many may not see it, but he is only behind Phil Jackson in getting the most out of his players. That's why he said he didn't like Monta before the 2007 season. That is why he sat Monta a lot in the playoffs. He knew that would only motivate the young star.

During the 2007 NBA Draft, Monta received some more motivation when the Warriors traded away Richardson to the Bobcats, opening the door for Monta to fill the void. That move also opened up cap room for the club to resign Monta after the season when he would become a restricted free agent. They would not let another Gilbert Arenas walk out on them.

The Warriors have another Gilbert Arenas. Monta came out gang busting this season. He averaged 20.2 points per game on 53.1 percent from the field. Shooting 53 percent from the field for a guy that is only 6'3", 177 pounds. Quite impressive.

What is more impressive is what Monta did in the month of February. Monta shot a ridiculous 60 percent from the field. Not for a three game stretch, but for the whole month.

He became only the ninth guard in league history to ever accomplish that feat. Monta is a little guy, a seven-footer accomplishing that is impressive enough but for little Monta, that is insane. During that stretch he put up 26.3 points per game alluding to what Monta will be able to do in the future. The crazy thing to think is that there is going to be more from this guy. Did I mention he is one of the better rebounding guards in the league? He pulled down five rebounds per game. This is only his third season and at age 22, the Milky Way is the limit for this extraordinary talent.

So with shoe company And 1 now coming out with their "Who is Monta Ellis?" campaigns around the globe, Monta should be a household name soon. To answer your question dad, "I love Mon-Ta Ellis, he is going to be a great player in this league for years to come."

I know who Monta Ellis is. Do You?

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