Warriors vs. Trailblazers: Monta Ellis, Surging Golden State Down Portland
The chants of M-V-P, M-V-P, M-V-P were deafening in the arena tonight. They were not for Kobe Bryant or LeBron James or Amar'e Stoudemire and Kevin Durant. Those chants were for a should-be All-Star: Monta Ellis. Ellis had another superb night scoring 39 points, dishing out seven assists and netting two huge steals in the fourth quarter to lead the surging Golden State Warriors past a very injury ravaged Portland Trailblazer team.
Ellis did tweak his ankle late in the fourth quarter defending a Wes Matthews jump shot; it didn’t seem to matter. After the tweak, Ellis hit a big jump shot and iced the game away with four free throws in the final seconds.
The Warriors are starting to slowly put things together and with a healthy Stephen Curry coming back and adding a spark, the Warriors are in a good position to make a run for the eighth and final playoff spot in a very wide open Western Conference.
Steph Curry had a poor shooting night, but dished out 11 assists and sat most of the fourth quarter to rest his bad right ankle.
Monta Ellis and Dorell Wright were the big story down the stretch.
With the Warriors down 96-91, Ellis and Wright came up with big steals and rebounds, leading to big fast break and momentum-changing baskets. Within a 1:28 of game time the Warriors turned a five-point deficit into a seven-point lead with an 11-0 run to all but decide the game.
The Blazers, who currently hold the eighth seed and were missing their star and heart of the team, Brandon Roy, had numerous chances to put away the Warriors, but missed six consecutive shots during the Warriors' decisive run and definitely missed Roy on offense.
Without Roy, the Blazers seemed to be lost at times and no one was willing to step up and take the big drive or the big shot that could have killed the Warriors.
If tonight proved anything though, it proves that Monta Ellis is an All-Star and deserves to be playing in Los Angeles on Feb. 20 and should also be talked about in the MVP race.
In my previous article I spoke about all Ellis’ stats and how they compare to others in the league at not only at his position, but in the NBA as a whole. His numbers really do speak for themselves and he is just as important to his team as Kobe, LeBron, Durant and Amar'e.
If he can put the Warriors on his shoulders and drag them into the playoffs he should then be declared the 2011 NBA MVP. It’s not expected for the Warriors to make the playoffs, but guys like Kobe, Durant, LeBron and Wade are expected to get their teams into the playoffs.
If I had a ballot, Monta Ellis would be my first-place vote. He deserves the recognition.
Monta Ellis is currently the league MVP.
At least in the hearts and minds of all the Warriors fans.
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