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The 2015 NBA free agent pool was a little polluted or at worst, someone tinkled in the deep end and didn’t tell anyone. If it was missing one thing in particular, it was a host of “go get it” guys. The Indiana Pacers may have just scored the best one in Monta Ellis.
Go Get It guys are those types that when the offense looks an awful lot like wet cat litter and the shot clock is winding down with everyone standing around looking like they’re waiting on the Mothership to come from the sky, you give it to the Go Get It guys and tell them to do something quick.
At first glance, $44 million over four years looks like a lot for a volume shooter without a lot of size and an immense amount of miles on his body. Ellis may be 29, but he’s been in the league out of high school and really, logging heavy minutes since his second year in the league.
He has seven seasons having played over 2,500 minutes, including the last three with the Dallas Mavericks.
But the Pacers sorely needed one of him, especially in light of the departure of the erratic, Fireball Whisky style player Lance Stephenson was. Ellis isn’t that … but that’s probably more of a good thing than a bad to many in the Pacers’ organization.
Where the Pacers have been so miserably inept when they’re at their worst was described in the scenario above. The last half of 2014 was an offense that looked like a scene from Mortal Kombat where both of the players’ controllers got disconnected and the figures are just sitting around waving back and forth like loiterer at a gas station.
Ellis is also elite in pick and roll situations, and the Pacers, at least two years ago, loved them some high ball screen and roll situations. As opposed to their options now, Ellis is one of those guys that can be a jackhammer going to the hoop when he’s at his best. And for as reckless as he can play, his durability is fairly high as well.
All in all, this was the signing the Pacers needed. If you told anyone a week ago that Monta Ellis would be a Pacer, you’d have been hair follicle tested on the spot. Then, David West, who of late just couldn’t muster much effort getting up and down the court, bowed out, freeing up the money used to sign Ellis.
To figure that the Pacers ostensibly traded an aging four for a younger two, coupled with the fact that they swear they’re doing this new “faster tempo” thing, and this is a major win for the blue and gold. West wasn’t going to be fit for the new “pace” (sorry, couldn’t force enough synonyms for faster tempo without using pace). Ellis is.
Now, though, the Pacers will walk into 2015 miserably thin up front. Roy Hibbert opted in because Roy Hibbert doesn’t hate money, and while smoke swirls that the Pacers would like to move him, wanting to do something and getting someone to go along with you on the date are different balls of wax.
Pacers fans should get used to hearing names like “Shayne Whittington” moonlighting at the four spot. But to get better so often, the cost is often getting marginally worse in another area.
Where Ellis won’t help is on defense, and there are always the “well, Frank Vogel doesn’t like playing guys who don’t play great defense” commentary. That’s always been sort of backwards logic to me. If Vogel’s forte is putting a good defensive team on the floor, it should stand to reason that he and staff could do more with marginal defensive players if necessary.
It’s the Rex Ryan theory of, if Rex is so great at coaching defense and awful at offense, why the heck did the Jets draft defense seemingly every year?
At any rate, this is a huge coup for the Pacers, who reportedly got Ellis because he wanted to win over Sacramento and their more money.
Ah, winning. It’s become a fixture for the Pacers in recent years, contending, pushing the Miami Heat, in the mix for the best record in the league.
There are still many “if’s” to be combed through, but George Hill was special last year toward the end of the season. Paul George coming back healthy, Big Roy, if he’s there, playing for another contract, and the fruits of having to go deep into the bench to get through last season most every game.
All of those things mean the Pacers are back, my friends. They can go get it, guys.
