Monta Ellis was one of the most notable free agents this past offseason, and the Indiana Pacers were able to snag him. Larry Bird immediately targeted him when he was on the market and there was no hesitation in his mind when he made the move to bring him to Indianapolis.
One of the biggest reasons for the move was the opt-out clause David West chose to use. He left town and broke up the core the Pacers have had over the past few seasons. West was the biggest locker room voice and one of the biggest pieces of the Pacers’ offense.
Roy Hibbert was traded soon after West’s opt-out, which immediately gave the Pacers a lot of money to work with.
Paul George missed 76 games last season due to a broken leg, but was able to come back for the final six games and show that he had worked through the injury. He has been excellent during the preseason and actually looks better than he was before the injury. Adding another scorer to relieve pressure from George was exactly what the Pacers needed to do.
With all of that being said, what should fans and the media expect to see from Ellis this season with the Pacers?
Last season with the Dallas Mavericks, Ellis ended up averaging 18.9 points, 4.1 assists and 2.4 rebounds per game. He shot 44.5 percent from the field overall and knocked down 28.5 percent of his three-point attempts. There are quite a few issues with him on the defensive end of the floor, but Frank Vogel and the Pacers feel they have enough defensive talent to compensate for some of his issues.
Bird and Vogel talked throughout the offseason and decided that they needed to play at a much faster offensive tempo. They were able to accomplish that with the offseason moves they made. Ellis was the best of them — he has played in up-tempo offenses for the majority of his career.
At 29 years old, Ellis is the type of veteran presence the Pacers wanted to add as their second-best player. He is much more mature than he was during his Golden State years, and he has already shown the teamwork-based ethic he absorbed from Rick Carlisle in Dallas during the early stages of the preseason. Ellis is more than capable of getting his teammates open and is a much more willing passer than many give him credit for.
That being said, he still loves to score and will be very aggressive in that regard when the regular season tips off.
How will Ellis fit with the Pacers this season? In a simple word, perfectly. He fits very well into what Indiana needs and the system the Pacers are going to run. He is already working well with George.
Another George — George Hill — is the starting point guard, but is a very good spot-up shooter as well. Hill could defer to Ellis quite often and allow him to play with the ball in his hands as Indiana did with Lance Stephenson a few seasons ago.
Expect to see Ellis return to being a 20-point threat each and every night. He likely won’t make an All-Star game, but there is a chance he could play to that level. Vogel and the Pacers are lucky to have him on their side, and Ellis will be the piece that decides whether or not this team becomes a legitimate contender in a much improved Eastern Conference.
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