Grade The Mavericks: Monta Ellis

Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

The season is over and all we can do is either look back or look ahead. We’re going to take some time to look back and grade the Dallas Mavericks.

Mr. Have It All is up.

Monta Ellis: 19 points, 45.1% fg, 5.7 assists, 3.6 rebounds, 1.7 steals, 3.2 turnovers

Ace Feltman (@MFFeLtman): A+ If Bailey’s theme is inconsistency, mine is expectations. Monta Ellis’ reputation as a selfish player and a ball hog has always titillated me. If you played alongside Stephen Curry and Brandon Jennings, would you pass? Since his 32/8/4 performance Opening Night vs. Atlanta, Monta’s grit and explosiveness has endeared himself to the #MFFL fan base. I especially love his willingness to put his body on the line to get to the free throw line, something this team desperately needed this year…and still needs more of. #Montakedatwitchu

Brian Gosset (@Gosset41): A Easily an A for me. Especially coming off last season with O.J. Mayo, who most people thought would fit well with Dirk, but as soon as Dirk returned from injury, Mayo shut down. It didn’t happen every time, but it happened a lot when Dirk had an off game, Ellis would be the hero. So explosive, honestly can’t remember a better penetrator for Dallas (Terry? Nash? Barea? Van Exel?) I can’t to see what Ellis brings next year.

Bailey Rogers (@BRogers789): B- It seems like a theme in my player grades has been inconsistency, so I will stick to my story here. At times, Monta had it all; at others, he very emphatically did not. Monta was so electrifying at times, that it felt all the more frustrating in the times that he wasn’t. If I was judging solely on offense, I’d probably give Monta a higher grade, but it is really hard for me to forgive defensive laziness. It wasn’t just that Monta was bad on defense, because he could be decent when he tried. It’s just that so often, he didn’t try. And nothing is worse than a star player who doesn’t try for whole stretches of games. Hopefully another year under Carlisle’s tutelage will provide Monta the quantum leap he needs to really take him place as Dirk’s full-time co-star. I would love nothing more than to see Monta have it all next year. (By it all, I mean a championship)

Jose De Leon (@JoseOfLion06): B+ I never once doubted Ellis before he came to Dallas. I knew what he was capable of and the only reason why he had so many doubters was because he HAD to take a whole lotta shots just to give his awful teams of the past a slim chance to win a ball game. See what happened when he came to a team with an elite coach and was paired with competent teammates? Ellis could not be in a more perfect situation. He’s the slasher that Dirk deserves and Ellis has the sharp-shooting security blanket that he deserves. Just two knocks against him: need him to be way more active on defense and need him to remember that his bread and butter is attacking the paint for the finish or the pass to the open shooter.

Rami Michail: (@RamiMichail): A-  HAVE IT ALL