With the clock winding down and the team trailing by two points, the Warriors gave the ball to their All-Star, Monta Ellis.
He stands dribbling at the top of the key eyeing the shot clock above the basket. Ellis makes his move to the hoop and sinks the basket.
The fans at Oracle Arena jump to their feet as the Warriors beat (insert opposing team here). This has been the story many times this year.
“A Great Time Out,” the recent marketing campaign for the Golden State Warriors, is finally coming true.
In the off-season, the Warriors made key additions like David Lee and Dorrell Wright, the league’s leading three-point shooter.
Now, the floor has opened up more for one of the most amazing players the NBA has to offer.
So, why hasn’t Ellis received the nod to what should have been his first All-Star game in Los Angeles this year?
Is it because of high-flying dunk machine Blake Griffin or the consistent double-double stat sheet of Kevin Love?
No: the real culprits in this All-Star mess are the fans, who can vote as many times as possible, in this case, for Yao Ming.
Yao, who had a season ending injury, led all Western Conference centers and forwards with over 990,000 votes. The only problem is he can’t play, but he still gets a roster spot for the All Star game.
So what gives? Maybe it is because Ellis’ team has a losing record, or maybe it is because he plays more minutes then almost any other player in the NBA, so his stats are exaggerated.
Either way, Ellis is having his best season of his career.
My suggestion is the NBA should change the way votes are tallied and give the in-stadium votes more weight then the votes turned in online.
In turn giving those players a better chance of going to the All-Star weekend in the future.
As for the rest of the season, Ellis needs a healthy chip on his shoulder and use the All-Star snub to light a fire to lead the Golden State Warriors back to the promise land, the playoffs.
‘Out of Bounds” is written by Sports editor Gerardo Recinos as well as staff writers Scott Annis and Stephen Langsam. It is updated biweekly on The Inquirer Online.
