San Francisco Chronicle wrote:11-28 22:29 PST -- When Warriors assistant coach Keith Smart went over the defensive scheme for Saturday's game against the Lakers, he didn't have to address who would be matched up with Kobe Bryant.

It was a given.

Those kinds of tasks used to go to Stephen Jackson, but since the swingman was shipped to Charlotte, Monta Ellis has been guarding opponents' best perimeter players. It's a role he relishes, despite mixed results.

Ellis held Portland's Brandon Roy to a 6-for-17 shooting night and Dallas' Jason Terry to 9-for-19, but Tony Parker had 32 points and seven assists for San Antonio on Wednesday.

Ellis was back to the good results Saturday against Bryant, who didn't get off a single shot in the first quarter. Ellis also drew a charge against the league's leading scorer.

It was a frustrating night for Bryant, who went 8-for-20 for 20 points - 10 below his season average. After missing a third-quarter turnaround and getting beaten on the other end by Ellis for a lay up, Bryant slammed his hand against the ball before inbounding it.

"They'll probably score on me every once in a while, but I guarantee you, I'll make them miss more shots than they make," Ellis said. "My defense definitely gets overlooked. I hear people say 'Monta can't play defense and this and that.'

"If you look at all the tapes, Monta doesn't get burned like people think he does. I go out and do whatever I need to do."

Ellis is second in the league, averaging 2.5 steals a game. His commitment to defense has been contagious recently.

"It's his job to play with energy and make it tough for opponents' best players," Stephen Curry said. "It starts with Monta, and the rest of the team has to back him up."

"If you look at all the tapes, Monta doesn't get burned like people think he does. I go out and do whatever I need to do."

bigstrads wrote:

"If you look at all the tapes, Monta doesn't get burned like people think he does. I go out and do whatever I need to do."

Ohh god............please dont talk like that.

"Yeah, Im Monta! .......Monta has had 3 DECENT one on one defensive peformances against Monta's man, for the first time in Monta's career...........y'all should bow down to Monta!"

Jesus, talk about blow a very small capsule of decent defending out of proportion.

Captain_Jack wrote:Don't get me wrong, Monta pisses me off. However I thought he played well against Kobe last night, especially in the first half in which Kobe had 5 points.