GS Warriors: 5 Reasons Monta Ellis Is the Most Underrated Guard in the NBA
A black hole. A defensive liability. One-half of an NBA backcourt that can never win.
Yeah, Monta Ellis has been called a lot of things during his six NBA seasons. Underrated is rarely one of those things. All-Star has never been one of those things.
But both should be the first words out of anyone's mouth when talking about the diminutive star out of Lanier (Jackson, Miss.) High School. He's a superstar whether the NBA chooses to acknowledge that fact or not.
If Ellis played in a different market or with a different supporting cast, he'd be an All-Star regular. Maybe even a fan-voted starter given his exciting brand of basketball.
But, out in Oakland, he's one of the NBA's forgotten stars. The lack of national media coverage, All-Star nods and postseason awards would say he's just another player in the NBA.
His numbers—and these reasons—however, tell an entirely different story.
5. He Plays in the Wrong Market
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Enter any opposing arena in full Warriors garb and be prepared for one question: "Where are the Warriors from?"
Granted, unbeknownst to Warriors owner Joe Lacob, NBA fans who attend the games are not always the most informed fans. But still, it's hard to fathom that the team's marketing department has failed to even introduce the club to the casual NBA fan.
If that wasn't bad enough, the club hasn't had an All-Star since Bill Clinton was a month into his second term, the original Justin Biebers (Hanson) were dominating pop radio and South Park had yet to air a single episode (Latrell Sprewell in 1997).
Now marketing firms, the league and even the fans can't be entirely blamed for the lack of All-Stars coming out of Northern California. If the team had a better record, Baron Davis and Ellis (maybe even Stephen Jackson if Commissioner David Stern would've allowed it) would have all been All-Stars.
But it's hard to leave out a player who's averaged the most points and the fourth-most assists when compared with the five Western Conference All-Star guards.
4. His Passing Skills Are Overshadowed by a Teammate
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While Stephen Curry deserves the attention he gets for being one of the NBA's best young point guards, his passing skills and creativity—and the Steve Nash comparison—make the NBA forget just how good of a distributor Ellis is.
Of the NBA's top ten scorers (Ellis is tied for sixth with Kobe Bryant at 24.8 points per game), he's one of only three to also be in the top 25 in assists (22nd with 5.6).
He also ranks 14th in the NBA in combined points/rebounds/assists and is the only player in the top 17 in the category who averages less than four rebounds per game (3.5).
In fact, he's third among non-point guards in assists per game, trailing only LeBron James and Andre Iguodala. James and Iguodala, meanwhile, are not fighting for assists with the same caliber of point guard that Ellis is.
Any national attention Ellis receives revolves around his ability to score points. And while he's been tremendous in that aspect, his passing skills are almost as impressive even if no one outside of the Bay has taken notice.
3. His Team's Defensive Stats Hurt His Defensive Reputation
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Whether coach Keith Smart likes it or not, the Warriors are a bad defensive team. They allow the third most points in the NBA (105.85) and their defensive lapses have hindered their ability to close out opponents all season.
But watch the Warriors next national broadcast—that's right opposing arena fan, they are on national TV every few months. Outside of rookie Ekpe Udoh and Dorell Wright, no one works harder on the defensive end of the floor than Ellis.
Granted, he's not a premier defender in the league and never will be. Part of the reason is that diminutive frame previously mentioned (6'3", 185 pounds). On any given night, he's giving up about three inches and 20 pounds to his matchup.
However, the Warriors and former coach Don Nelson share the rest of the blame for failing to develop Ellis' techniques on the defensive end of the floor. Any team willing to draft a player straight out of high school had to take on the responsibility of developing that player on both ends of the floor.
Nelson's disregard for anything remotely defensive took a toll on Ellis' techniques, and he won't always be in the correct position.
But his 2.22 steals per game (third in the NBA) show how effective he is on quickness and instincts alone. Imagine what he could do with a coach who actually focused on defense.
2. His Scoring Numbers Make People Assume He Is Inefficient
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In essence, efficiency adds up all of the good things a player does in a game and subtracts all of the bad to assign a value to that player's effectiveness—click here for a thorough description of the formula to calculate efficiency.
So a player who takes a majority of his team's shots and scores a majority of his team's points might struggle with efficiency rating. When the game is placed on their shoulders, younger players have a tendency to force the issue and drive down their efficiency in the process.
As for Ellis, that's simply not the case. In fact, using this formula, he's the league's 24th-most efficient player. For the record, that's best on the team—only David Lee (29th) and Stephen Curry (37th) are in the top 50—and fifth best in the division.
He also has a higher ranking than the fanbase's dream acquisitions: Nene (28th), Andre Iguodala (40th) and Danny Granger (48th). What's more, he's ahead of Western Conference All-Stars Tim Duncan (39th) and Manu Ginobili (44th).
Efficiency is not the end-all, be-all of a player's effectiveness. But still, this shows that he's much more than just a scorer.
1. His Numbers Are Assumed to Be Inflated by the Warriors' System
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With all of the defensive talk before the season began, to steal a line from former NFL coach Dennis Green, it turns out "They are who we thought they were."
The Warriors are no longer a top-5 scoring team in the NBA, but still rank in the top 10 (seventh at 103.18). One might assume that any scorer would inflate his numbers by playing in this system.
In keeping with the football theme of this slide—as Lee Corso would say—"Not so fast my friend."
He can't be tied for sixth in the league in scoring without being able to beat his defenders in a variety of ways. With his improved three-point shooting (a career-best 35.2 percent on the year), defenses can no longer sag off of him at the perimeter. The problem for those defenses, however, is that if they close out too much, his handles and quickness can get him to the basket at will.
What's more remarkable is that he's putting up these kind of numbers with just 387 free throw attempts on the season. That's just one free-throw attempted for every 3.6 field goals he attempts. His 5.7 free attempts per game are the third least in the league's top 20 scorers, trailing only Zach Randolph (5.3) and Andrea Bargnani (5.4).
If the Warriors can bring in the right personnel to build around Ellis, he'll no longer be a forgotten star. He'll get the benefit of the doubt from officials and increase those free throw attempts.
And the Warriors will go from "Where are they from again?" to championship contenders.
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