what it comes down to is that, right now, ellis is a role player (scorer). one hell of a role player, at that. there’s no telling whether he’ll devolop a handle, a 3, or passing skills in the next few years. j-rich had been working on it since he came into the league and he still hasn’t gotten it.

so do you give $10mil a year to a role player? it made sense to give jason that amount considering he had a decent jumper, could shoot the 3, and provided a low-post game the warriors were lacking. getting him 10mil per was a steal with the numbers he put up as opposed to the money the cavs are paying larry hughes.

In comparing the three players, they’re all asked to do very different things for their teams. Devin is a point in the Parker mold. Control the rock, dish on occasion and drive. He’s added a nice outside shot this year to improve his scoring. Martin is expected to be Option One on offense and carry the team with his scoring For the most part he has. Monta is asked to help, but not shoulder the ball handling chores and provide scoring and penetration. He’s turned into a hell of a combo guard. That bears out in their statistics.

Martin 24.5ppg, 2.1apg
Ellis 16.9ppg, 3.4apg
Harris 14ppg, 5.4apg

Considering how differently each team uses them it’s kind of amazing to use them as comparables for contract purposes. Besides being quick and young, they’re very different players.

now how about some ball handling? how about controlling the pace on penetration? how about developing some kind of 3 point shot? i know his strength is from 20 feet in, but a guard whos getting paid 10mil per year better be knocking down some 3′s. martin is at 39% from 3, harris at 34%, and monta at 21%. both martin and harris handle the ball extremely well. both are capable of getting to the link and knocking those down. i just can’t say the same for ellis. i’m just hoping his success is not just a product of nellie’s hectic offense.

Teams are now game planning for Monta as one of the Dubs primary scorers. He’s used to attacking the seams in the defense and being treated as a secondary/niche player. It’s a sign of respect but it’s definitely harder on him now that teams are specifically tasked with being aware of him and taking away his favorite spots. It’s an adjustment he’ll need to make as he continues to develop.

He’s also one of the favorite targets for opposing teams to attack on defense. It’s not just being a combo guard playing shooting guard; He’s the weakest wing defender on the Warriors. No surprise teams look to pick on him instead of Davis or Jackson, two stand out defenders. Kid Flash has a lot on his plate, despite a few down games; overall I think he’s done a pretty remarkable job.

But your point is valid. Monta is not a max contract player. I’m not sure anyone thought he was though. The general consensus has been he’s due a contract somewhere in the range of Kevin Martin’s in Sacramento and the very same Devin Harris’s in Dallas. That’s a definite step or two below a max contract.

reason 83 you can’t give monta a max deal:

he cannot play anyone who is anywhere near as quick as he is. for the few times he was on harris, he couldn’t stay with him. 32 year old iverson was able to contain him and ellis wasn’t able to do anything off the dribble. he’s becoming more of a liability when his game isn’t on or when the matchup doesn’t favor him. that happens to guys, but he doesn’t offer much else other than transition buckets when he stuggles.

there was a sequence in the first quarter where he drove in on harris and picked up his dribble 15 feet from the hoop. he was looking to pass the whole time. problem was, pietrus, the guy he was looking to pass to was covered the whole time. what happens? he tries to squeeze it between two mavs at point blank range; turnover.

Go Mavs!

He came back strong in the second half but with Baron MIA all game long and Monta not being as aggressive as usual, there was just no chance to get back into it.

The lack of a bench has been a popular topic but yet again, as soon as Nellie went past the usual eight, with Mbenga, he immediately fouled someone and gave up two shots at the free throw line. This bench, past the core eight, just isn’t there.

Let’s hope they can get fired up for New Orleans. We’re in the hunt with them, a win would be huge.

Reason two, I thought the W’s had reached the point of having ‘killer-instinct’ and a loss like that shows that they may not have it yet… When you are in someone’s head and you own them, you’ve got to keep owning them with severe and merciless beatings. I would’ve like to have seen a hard foul or two mixed in with some more junk talk to keep them out of their games. Now it will be that much harder to discipline the Mavs the next time. Dirk was allowed to get too much of his confidence back.

BTW, we know Baron had a bad game tonight but what’s up with Biedrins? He’s been dropping passes and somewhat unaware when the ball is swinging toward him; when he does catch it, it sits in his hands for too long. He’s still good of course but I’ve noticed a performance drop from him.