Monta Ellis Not Concerned With Scoring Slump

The normally-explosive Monta Ellis has seen his offensive numbers take a dip during this compressed season, but he insists that that’s not what concerns him most. From the San Fran Chronicle: “One of the league’s most dynamic scorers the past three seasons, Ellis is struggling to put up points at his normal rate this season. He’s shooting 42 percent from the floor, the lowest percentage since his rookie year, and 25.4 percent from three-point range, down nearly 11 percentage points from last season. But Ellis says fans shouldn’t worry about that. They should be concerned with more important things. ‘Win,’ Ellis said. ‘That’s all I’m trying to do.’ Ellis scored a season-low four points in Wednesday’s win over Portland, but he had 12 assists to two turnovers. His assist numbers have skyrocketed this season, and many of the helpers are coming within the integrity of the offense. The Warriors are 6-11 overall and 0-4 when Ellis scores 30 or more points. When he’s in the 20-to-29 range, they’re 4-2. ‘He understands that when he doesn’t have it scoring-wise, great players figure out a way to impact the game,’ coach Mark Jackson said. “We’ve seen him long enough to know that (Wednesday) was not his normal game. He’s a scorer, but he’s an underrated playmaker. He does a great job of reading situations.’ Ellis has had to deal with a shortened training camp that could have affected his jumper and stamina. He’s had to play nine games without point guard Stephen Curry, who stretches the floor. And Ellis has been the attention of every defense. Take Memphis, for example. Grizzlies video coordinator Jason March spliced together a tape of Ellis’ moves before Monday’s game. The league’s best perimeter defender, Tony Allen, watched every second. ‘He’s cold, but there ain’t no way around it,’ Allen said of Ellis. ‘I don’t look at what other teams do. I look at what he does, and I do my best to contain that. That’s how I get down, period and point blank. There’s no blueprint for it. We’ve got a great video and editing guy, and we’re tied together like an orange to its peel.’”