The Warriors would love to show the world they're better than their record, but apparently they're in no hurry to do so.
Just as Andris Biedrins was pronouncing himself ready to return from a five-game absence due to a sprained ankle, the Warriors' most painful ankle injury cropped up again and once again prevented the club from putting its best starting unit on the floor. The Warriors announced Sunday that Monta Ellis, who underwent major ankle surgery in August and missed the first 43 games of the season, will be given at least a week off in the hope that recurring pain in the ankle subsides.
Ellis did not travel Monday to Los Angeles to face the Clippers, after which the Warriors were scheduled to play just once in five days.
The Warriors have not written him off for next week's five-day trip to Minnesota, Chicago, Detroit and Milwaukee, but given the cautious approach they're taking, it would seem unlikely he would return then.
More likely, following three days off after the trip, he would join the Warriors in tipping off a four-game homestand against the Nets on March 11. That would give the ankle a full 17 days of rest since he last played Saturday against the Thunder, with just 19 games remaining in the season.
Ellis appeared to survive a scare Feb. 2 when he twisted his bad ankle in overtime against San Antonio. He went to the locker room immediately and didn't play again that night. But he showed no ill effects when he returned to play 28 minutes two nights later against Phoenix. He subsequently gutted out 44 and 45 minutes in consecutive outings against the Trail Blazers and Lakers that sandwiched the All-Star break.
Ellis was coming off his most complete effort of the season, having recorded a season high in steals (five), his second-best shooting night (7-of-13) and third-best assist total (four) in Saturday's home win over Oklahoma City.
Two numbers stand out in Ellis' 13 games to date: 33.2 and 2.8. The former is his minutes per game, a solid figure for a guy bouncing back from major surgery. The latter is his assists average, which quickly has prompted coach Don Nelson to give up on the idea that Ellis can be the club's point guard of the future.
CLIPPERS 118, WARRIORS 105: Baron Davis never looked better in a Clippers uniform. Then again, that's not saying much. Much maligned in his first season as a Clipper as he has struggled with toe and hamstring problems, Davis showed up big time Monday night, while the man expected to replace him for the Warriors this season -- Monta Ellis -- did not.
Davis, who left the Warriors last summer for a better offer from the Clippers, missed a triple-double by one rebound in arguably his best -- and no doubt most enjoyable -- game of the season. Ellis, meanwhile, sat out for the 44th time this year because of pain in his left ankle.
