Monta Ellis: The Answer to The Answer?

There’s few things more exciting in basketball than the uncompromising, unrelenting, un-guardable scorer.

Especially when that scorer is almost always the smallest player on the court. That’s what made Allen Iverson so appealing to the international mainstream and basketball-playing youngsters: he scored voluminously, willfully, as the underdog little guy in a big man’s game.

But as The Answer fades to an unknown — or worse, goes to Turkey — 6’3, 185 pound Monta Ellis is presenting lots of solutions for the Golden State Warriors. And he’s looking a lot like Iverson doing it.

Ellis dropped 46 points on 17-24 shooting in the Warriors’ 132-128 season-opening win over the Houston Rockets– the
Rockets with last year’s sixth-ranked scoring defense. In doing so, Ellis became the highest opening day scorer for Golden State since Wilt Chamberlain’s 56 points in 1952. Two nights later, Ellis shot 6-12 from the field and dropped 11 assists  Warriors’ 109 – 91 blowout of the Clippers. He’s currently fourth in the NBA in scoring at 27.0 ppg.

In Iverson’s third season, then 23, he averaged nearly identical totals of 26.8 points and 2.3 steals per game. But it’s the way Ellis “gets his” that reminds you most of The Answer.

There’s arguably not a quicker player in the NBA — Brandon Jennings, Derrick Rose, Leandro Barbosa, et. al. included. Monta certainly doesn’t think so.

(Watching the Rockets so helplessly try to stay with Ellis on Wednesday, you wonder if Ellis wasn’t being humble in that above clip.) He seems able to go by anyone guarding him at will. Much like Iverson later in his career, Ellis forgoes the fancy handles and killer crossovers for a simple, unmatched first step to burn defenders.

If he doesn’t get the separation he needs, he contorts his wiry body in the air and gets up a shot anyway.

He’s able to stop and pop one of the more devastating mid-range jumpers in the game, as he consistently did over the Rockets’ 6’7 Kevin Martin in the opener. When Ellis is hitting from outside, Bobby Knight’s fantasy couldn’t guard him. 50 is in the air. And, like Iverson, best believe Ellis will keep (Bubba) chucking.

(Ellis’s critics point to his inability or reluctance to play defense, and even more his alpha-gunner role in the Warriors hyperspeed attacks as reasons he’s not an elite player. Too many shots, not enough defense, selfish. Critics said the same thing of Iverson, and all he did was win an MVP award, three All-NBA First Team selections, and lead a Philadelphia team that started Eric Snow, Aaron Mckie, Tyrone Hill, and Dikembe Mutombo to the NBA Finals in 2001 and five straight playoff appearances from 1998 – 2003.)

Even more so than A.I.,  Monta will sometimes just take off. Like this dunk two years ago over the aforementioned Barbosa — one of those “arrival moment” clips that decorate the great careers.

Remember Iverson’s? Say what you want about Kobe, LeBron, etc. but there’s only one player in the history of the NBA to ever make Michael Jordan look truly silly.

That’s what I’m getting at with Monta. He’s certainly not the best player in the NBA: Dwayne Wade is in a different class as a defender. Kevin Durant is a better all-around player. And Kobe and LeBron are so good — and famous — that the world need refer to them by first-name only.

But Ellis is the guy you pony up the absurd $179.94 NBA League Pass investment for. Who just might go for 46 on one of the League’s best defenses, or embarrass a Hall of Famer. Whose nickname is the “Mississippi Bullet” because he’s just that damn fast.

Want a reason to stay up past midnight on weekdays? One might say that Ellis, who’s games in Golden State typically start at 10:30 EST, is your Answer.