Courtesy of the San Francisco Chronicle:
(01-14) 14:20 PST -- Monta Ellis' first full practice of the season was distinguished by what he said as much as what he did. After trash talking through his most active workout yet, the rehabbing guard proceeded to trash any notions of being unhappy with the franchise he was re-signed to lead this past summer.
"Listen, whatever it is about me leaving, wanting to go, I don't want to play for Nellie - that never came from my mouth," Ellis said Tuesday. "I don't know where they got that from, but I'm here for the next six years. I'm a Warrior. I'm going to always be a Warrior. Whoever put that out there did it because they wanted a story.
"I'm making it known right now that I'm a Warrior," he continued. "I love playing for Nellie, and I never said (otherwise), not one time. So you don't have to worry about that. ... Only thing I'm worried about is getting back on the basketball court."
That could come any week now, legal leftovers notwithstanding. Ellis' agent, Jeff Fried, who filed a grievance against the Warriors over how they handled his client's moped accident, is scheduled to be in Oakland on Monday.
It's possible that Ellis will be healthy enough to suit up for a game around then after participating in 5-on-5 scrimmaging for the first time since injuring his left ankle in August. He went full-court at times Tuesday, if not quite at full speed or full contact, and declared himself both pain- and swelling-free.
In fact, Ellis said his conditioning is the main hurdle to cross before playing in his first NBA game since the end of last season.
"Anybody who's been off nine months and tries to play this game isn't going to have it yet," Ellis said. "But like I said, I'm going to work hard and see how it goes. ...
"I'm not going to go out there and just hurt my team going out there not in shape, just my presence. I'm going to take my time and get everything back 100 percent. When that time comes, I'll let everybody know when Monta Ellis is back in the starting lineup."
His teammates only had to listen to know that Ellis officially was back at practice. The 6-foot-3 guard, playing at small forward for the Warriors' reserves because of their lack of healthy bodies, wasn't shy about testing his ankle or vocal chords.
Though Ellis appeared to go at about 75 percent, he had his share of notable plays: stripping Corey Maggette on the perimeter and diving for the loose ball, curling off a screen for a mid-range jumper, and quick striding into the paint for a finger roll.
And there was trash talk through it all.
"The whole time, right? With his country slang," Jamal Crawford said with a smile. "He lifted the level of practice with his energy, his confidence."
"It feels great to be back here," Ellis said, "going back and forth with the guys, making everybody play harder, everybody laughing, everybody having a great time.
"I don't know when I'm coming back. I'm not going to say what percentage I am. Just continue to work hard, continue doing the things I'm doing to get to this point."
I'm excited. I'm downright jubilant. First of all, put aside that he's on my fantasy team for a moment -- I think he's a great player to watch. One of the most exciting in the entire league.
He's on a team that runs ... they're capable of scoring 120 points any night (and allowing 130). And you can't wait to open that online box score when the score is high.
Meanwhile, Ellis is about to join a fantasy team that is finally finding itself. After some early growing pains, the new lineup is paying dividends.
Tonight:
Rajon Rondo -- 5-9 FGs, 1-2 FTs, 7 rebounds, 12 assists, 4 turnovers, 3 steals, 11 points
If not for the blowout victory over the Nets, Rondo could have finished with a triple double. Great night, keep wearing that headband.
Allen Iverson -- 9-19 FGs, 5-8 FTs, 1 rebound, 7 assists, 4 turnovers, 2 blocked shots, 23 points
He's always going to bring some negatives (tonight it was free throws, somewhat uncharacteristically ... the turnovers were expected, however), but he had some assists, blocked shots (always a welcome sight -- and highly unexpected from Iverson), and 23 points. Encouragingly, he took 19 shots ... albeit in an OT game. As I stated earlier, expect Iverson to average about 14 shots a game in this offense. There's not a huge difference between his shot attempts with Stuckey starting and Hamilton healthy and his shot attempt average for the year.
Jeff Green -- 8-13 FGs, two 3s, 5-5 FTs, 8 rebounds, 2 turnovers, 23 points
I believe in Jeff Green. I believe that everyone in Gotham can breathe a bit more easily because he's providing rebounds, shooting a reasonable FG% for a change, and hitting the occasional 3.
Shawn Marion -- 7-13 FGs, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 14 points
That's all I'm asking for. If they trade you to the Kings for Brad Miller, that wouldn't be a bad arrangement. If they trade you to the Raptors for Jermaine O'Neal, that wouldn't be too awful either. You would still play heavy minutes and give me numbers like these.
Paul Pierce -- 7-14 FGs, five 3s, 3-4 FTs, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 turnovers, 3 steals, 1 block, 22 points
He sure heated up in the third quarter tonight, didn't he? It doesn't take long for Paul to turn around a bad night from the field (he started off 1 for 7). And it's great to see such solid all around production. I was predicting Pierce would hit more 3s when I made all of my deals (he was only averaging 1.4 per game at the time, after averaging 1.8 3s last year). And he is delivering them in our hour of need.
Tony Parker -- 9-14 FGs, 2-4 FTs, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 turnovers, 2 steals, 1 block, 20 points
I'm not happy about the turnovers or the free throws. And Parker typically gives you more assists than this. But then I see 9 of 14 from the field, 2 steals, and even a blocked shot ... and I'm thrilled. Steals are so vital for this team right now.
To review, I had 6 starters play tonight. The only regulars who were missing: Al Jefferson and Dwight Howard. My 6 starters combined for:
113 points (18.83 ppg)
7 3s (1 1/6 ... we still need more 3s on this team)
29 assists (4.83 apg)
33 rebounds (5.5 reb ... keep in mind that this was the guard and small forward-heavy portion of the lineup, with Jefferson and Howard to follow)
9 steals (1.5 spg)
5 blocks (5/6 ... with no Howard or Jefferson! Great night for blocks!)
45-82 FGs (.549 from the field tonight -- about damn time!)
16-23 FTs (Story of this team -- We can't hit a goddamn free throw. That's ok, we already punted in free throws)
16 turnovers (2 2/3 -- This is still troublesome)
There will still be tweaks made with the lineup. The goal is to add more 3s and reduce turnovers. I won't even attempt to address free throw percentage as long as Dwight Howard is on the roster. His positives outweigh his negatives (FT%, turnovers). I also think Dwight Howard is a fun player to own. How many players are capable of putting up a 20-20? After LeBron, he's my absolute favorite player to watch.
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