When Monta Ellis uttered those words the first day of training camp tnobody could be faulted to look at them with a healthy dose of skepticism. After all "Monta-ball" has been associated with poor shot-selection and decision making that frustrated many fans, teammates and coaches, especially during his stay in Milwaukee.
This Monta was super-efficient going 11-14 from the field and 8-8 from the line. His decision making was near-perfect with an assist to turnover ratio of 9-1. While we might not see box score lines that amazing from Ellis every night, what we have seen through four games is the player the Mavs hoped they were getting when they inked Ellis to a three year deal this summer. A perfect pick-and-roll partner for Dirk who can attack the rim like few Mavericks have ever been able to do, along with an underrated playmaking ability that sets up teammates for many open looks.
And the Mavericks got plenty of those open looks against a porous Lakers defense that couldn't blame all of their problems on the absence of Kobe Bryant.
The Mavs had their way from the start scoring at will and growing a lead that would eventually grow to 30. The game became such a thorough beatdown that it began to resemble the Game 4 "Mother's Day Massacre" in the 2011 West Semifinals. At least this time we thankfully weren't treated to a cheap-shotting and shirtless Andrew Bynum.
Contributions came up and down the roster but special praise should go to DeJuan Blair (10 points, 8 rebounds and 5 steals) and Gal Mekel (9 points, 6 assists), who were able to run a potent two-man-game of their own in the second period.
Things went so well that a big game was not needed from Dirk, who did not score until the second period and finished with 11 points. In all 7 Mavs finished in double figures including a career-high 18 points from Jae Crowder, who remained read hot from long distance, going 4-6. Jose Calderon showed that his poor shooting from the first two games are definitely a thing of the past going 4-6 from behind the arc.
Since the game was decided so early no player had to play any significant number of minutes, which is of quite importance considering the Mavs will face Oklahoma City on the back end of a back-to-back Wednesday and then face Minnesota and Milwaukee for another back-to-back situation on the road Friday and Saturday.
Through 4 games we have seen the promise that this Mavericks team can possibly be an offensive juggernaut led by a catalyst who has shown that efficiency is something that is not totally foreign to his game. If this continues "Monta-ball" can have a totally different meaning than it has in the past.
Team Leaders
Points: Ellis, 30
Rebounds: Nowitzki, Blair, 8
Assists: Ellis, 9
Player of the Game: Ellis
Quote of Note: ''The lane was wide open, so I just attacked, and when they came over, I passed the ball and that's what we wanted. Me being aggressive opened everything else up.'' Monta Ellis
Next Up: The 3-1 Mavs travel to Oklahoma City Wednesday for their first matchup of the year with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the rival Thunder (2-1) at 8:30.
No comments:
Post a Comment