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Indiana Pacers: What To Do With Monta Ellis?

By Jordan Treske

Apr 18, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Indiana Pacers point guard Monta Ellis (10) during the late stages of the game against the Toronto Raptors in game two of the first round of the 2016 NBA Playoffs at Air Canada Centre. The Raptors beat the Pacers 98-87. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 18, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Indiana Pacers point guard Monta Ellis (10) during the late stages of the game against the Toronto Raptors in game two of the first round of the 2016 NBA Playoffs at Air Canada Centre. The Raptors beat the Pacers 98-87. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Indiana Pacers reshuffled their starting lineup this offseason, but could it continue with Monta Ellis before the start of the upcoming season?

If their offseason was any indication, the Indiana Pacers will be nothing short of interesting this coming year.

From their high-profile coaching change to their unexpected trades for Jeff Teague and Thaddeus Young, the new-look Pacers certainly captured everyone’s attention well before free agency started.

With training camp slowly approaching, the Pacers face plenty of challenges trying to integrate their new pieces within their defined roster in time before the season starts.

At the center of their many challenges, a big question mark revolves around one of the Pacers’ recent backcourt additions: Monta Ellis.

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In his first season in Indiana, Ellis struggled to make the same scoring impact that he’s had in the past when joining a new team.

Ellis posted his lowest scoring mark since he entered the league (13.8 points per game) and despite having a relatively fine three-point shooting year for his standards (31 percent), Ellis averaged a true shooting percentage of 50.4 percent last year, per NBA.com/stats.

Despite Ellis’ scoring downturn, Ellis found a lane to operate as a primary ballhandler/playmaker playing alongside Pacers’ star Paul George and the ever-versatile George Hill.

Averaging a usage percentage of 21 percent, Ellis led the Pacers in assists per game (4.7) and posted a solid 1.89 assist-to-turnover ratio.

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But now with the shakeups the Pacers made this summer, there’s plenty of intrigue over whether Ellis’ style can co-exist with a similar, ball dominant player like Teague.

That might sound odd to some, considering Teague is a better all-around offensive player than Hill.  However, where the crux of the change lies in Teague’s ability to carry over his shooting from last year.

In his last season with the Atlanta Hawks, Teague had his best three-point shooting campaign (40 percent) of his eight-year career.  Additionally, Teague dramatically improved his efficiency off of catch and shoot situations from deep, shooting 49.6 percent in 113 attempts.

While that last number should be a source for optimism, Teague’s history as a three-point shooter (Teague’s a career 36 percent shooter from beyond the arc) doesn’t erase the doubt over whether his three-point proficiency last year was a fluke or a sign of things to come.

Even putting questions over Teague’s efficiency aside, the Pacers acquired Teague to lead the team’s offense, not to mold him to be the next George Hill.

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That’s where the fundamental problem lies for the Pacers as they look to rebuild their offense, with Teague and Ellis expected to lead their backcourt.

Whether it’s Teague or George primarily initiating the offense, taking the ball out of Ellis’ hands further limits what he can do on the floor, considering his shooting deficiencies.

Not only that, but the Pacers don’t have too many alternatives, other than C.J. Miles, that could solve their shooting limitations and operate off the ball that would switch Ellis to a reserve role.

With rebuilding the offense being the team’s biggest priority this offseason, the additions the Pacers made this summer only complicates their drive to revamp what had been their Achilles’ heel under Frank Vogel.

That’s not to say the Pacers, namely new head coach Nate McMillian, will be incapable of taking on that challenge, but it certainly won’t be ironed out from the start of the season.

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Where Ellis’ role stands within the team remains to be seen, but it will definitely be worth paying attention to once the season starts.

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