Warriors guard Monta Ellis is expecting to play tonight. At Wednesday’s shootaround, he said he felt “fine,” just that he was sore.
“Yeah,” Ellis said, “I’m playing.”
Ellis is officially listed as a game-time decision. He will be examined before the game to see how his back has recovered. But Ellis said he knew he was playing “when I left Toronto.”
An X-Ray and CT scan revealed Ellis suffered a lower back strain, good news considering how bad the fall looked late in Monday’s win over Toronto. Ellis laid motionless on the court, but said it wasn’t that he couldn’t move as much as he was he was in pain and he was instructed not to move.
Ellis has received treatment and looked to be uninhibited taking set shots at the end of shootaround. He was able to reach down for the pass. He wasn’t taking jump shots, but he got full extension on his release. He even bent over to pick up his stuff as he left to board the team bus. There is a chance his back could still spasm up and limit his mobility.
Ellis has not missed any time due to his back injury, and currently leads the NBA in scoring with 27.9 points per game. The Knicks’ defense actually hasn’t been bad at all this season on a per-possession basis, but the Knicks and Warriors play at two of the fastest paces in the league, so expect some fireworks if Ellis is indeed healthy and ready to play tonight.