A pissed off Monta Ellis gives Mavericks hope

Time is running out for the Dallas Mavericks. With 10 games left in the regular season there’s still chemistry to be cultivated and roles to be defined. Of course, even if it were January there wouldn’t be a solution to the rebounding woes or the number of one-way players on the roster.

But even so, despite the number of concerns surrounding the Mavs, there is a reason to keep hope alive. A pissed off Monta Ellis.

Not the, “I’m going to cause problems for my team” pissed off, but the “I’m going to cause problems for the other team” pissed off.

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After taking a lot of heat for his 4-22 performance against the Suns in Phoenix on Sunday, Ellis went wild on the San Antonio Spurs to the tune of 38 points and 5 assists on 16-27 shooting.

Was it simply a bounce back game for the Mavericks’ leading scorer, or was it fueled by the criticism and allegations from ESPN’s Tim MacMahon that he’s a “pain in the butt” for the franchise?

The cold shoulder he gave MacMahon following the win over San Antonio should help answer that.

The truth is Ellis has plenty of incentive to finish the season strongly and play well in the postseason, and not just the satisfaction of proving his doubters wrong. There’s also this other thing. It’s called money. I don’t know too much about it, but apparently it’s pretty popular.

It’s already been reported that Ellis will opt out of the final year of his contract when this season concludes. Whether he remains in Dallas or moves onto his fourth NBA team, carrying the Mavericks to a series win, and possibly more, would go a long way to repair the damage done by yet another negative report regarding his leadership and attitude as he enters free agency.

So can he do it? Obviously other players will need to step up as well, but Ellis is absolutely capable of going on a tear and putting the team on his back.

It starts with him being aggressive off the dribble. That was glaringly apparent against the Spurs, where he used his slashing ability to open things up for himself outside. Ellis attacked the rim early and often, as if Tim Duncan and Tiago Splitter didn’t exist. 13 of his 27 field goal attempts came in the paint, a good ratio, and as is the case with most scorers, getting some quality looks inside can work wonders for the jump shot.

Because of his exceptional quickness, defenders are forced to sag off of him to avoid a blow-by when he’s made it a point to attack. This results in cleaner looks when he decides to pull up and shoot. He has the fourth most points on pull ups this season, trailing only Chris Paul, Stephen Curry, and James Harden, but he shoots just 39% on those attempts.

Teams will live with him taking one dribble off of a screen and jacking up a long two-pointer, especially if he’s going to do it the majority of the time. But when he’s a threat to drive, an area in which he is very successful scoring the ball, he becomes a nightmare to defend.

It’s not just scoring, either. Watch how the threat of penetration gets Brandan Wright to sink all the way into the center of the lane to stop Ellis, leaving Amar’e Stoudemire wide open for an elbow jumper. Simple, but effective. And it stems from Ellis attacking.

The reports on Ellis came after back-to-back poor games. The outing against Phoenix and his 3-9 performance in a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. But the five games prior to that Ellis scored 21.4 points on nearly 50% shooting while the Mavericks went 4-1.

It shouldn’t shock you that when a team’s leading scorer plays well they have a good shot at winning. When he doesn’t, they don’t. But for the majority of the season Ellis has played well. And with a Texas-sized chip now firmly planted on his shoulder, he could just be getting started.

Next: Mavericks: Game Grades for Win over Spurs

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