Monta Ellis: Shining Star

You probably haven't heard about it because Ellis has somehow become one of the most controversial players in the NBA this side of Kobe Bryant.

Like Bryant and his ability in the clutch, there is just as much unnecessary debate about just how good Monta Ellis really is.

These stat geeks, obsessed with efficiency, plug all of Ellis' numbers into a complex formula and accept whatever comes out as gospel.

I happen to be somewhat of a stat geek myself but have a simple philosophy when it comes to things like this: Whenever I watch the games and know someone is fantastic and someone comes up with a complex formula which tells me otherwise, ignore the complex formula and go with what my eyes and my good sense tell me.

This is also known as keeping it simple, stupid.

There is something wrong with any calculation which tells you anything other than Monta Ellis is the man, or the mf'er, as some might say.

Ellis is not perfect, far from it.

His off-ball defense can make you cry the way he loses track of his man while ball-watching, and he fumbles the ball for no apparent reason for more turnovers than probably anybody in the NBA.

But you name almost any player in the NBA, including Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, and at least two major holes in his game can be quickly identified as well.

So make no mistake about it, Monta Ellis is one of the best players in the NBA, exclamation point!

In a season mostly to forget, Ellis has provided Golden State fans countless precious memories.

There was the 46-pointer on opening night, the showdown with Kobe Bryant, the duel with Kevin Durant, the shootout with Carmelo Anthony, the 39-pointer on Christmas night, the game-saving and/or game-winning shots against Indiana, Sacramento and others; the flawless defense on Derrick Rose in a home win, the 41 he laid on the Celtics in a close loss in Boston and numerous other big shots, timely steals, slick passes, clutch plays, electrifying highlights, big wins and everything else you would expect from a franchise player.

Golden State has already won more games than it did last year, despite a run of injuries early in the season which basically left the team without any big men.

And Monta Ellis, while not the only reason, is a big reason why.

With back-court mate Stephen Curry at his side, the all-around play of Dorell Wright and David Lee and the defensive contributions of Ekpe Udoh, Andris Biedrins and Jeremy Lin, the Warriors are in position to do big things.

They play a brand of basketball which is exciting and fun to watch and took a big step this year competitively.

So look out for Golden State Warriors.

Henry Abbott. "The truth about Kobe Bryant in crunch time." ESPN True Hoop Blog
Ethan Sherwood Strauss. "Getting fired the Smart way." ESPN True Hoop Blog
All stats verified on NBA.com, ESPN.com and Basketball Reference.com