The Dallas Mavericks are reportedly concerned with the effect that Monta Ellis’ ‘moodiness’ and shooting slump is having on the rest of the team.
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All is not well at the franchise after a poor run of form since the All-Star break, and that along with rumors of in-house bickering have culminated in them dropping to seventh in the Western Conference.
While Rajon Rondo got into a public spat with coach Rick Carlisle, recent arrival Amar’e Stoudemire slammed the team’s lack of effort last month while Carlisle himself echoed that sentiment after their most recent defeat which came against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.
Ellis has been struggling throughout these issues on and off the court, and he has shot just 38.5 percent from the field and 25.0 percent on 3-pointers since the start of February.
While the shooting guard declined to speak to reporters after the Suns game, Carlisle defended his player and insisted that it was a collective issue that the entire team needs to figure out.
However, Tim MacMahon of ESPN believes that it is deeper-rooted and that Ellis’ moodiness is having a negative effect on the team and is raising questions about his future.
“Regardless of whether anyone will admit it on the record, Ellis is a big part of that problem [playing hard]. Folks in the Mavs organization have been fretting for weeks about the impact Ellis’ moodiness has on the team’s soul”.
It remains to be seen whether or not Dallas can figure their issues out, but they will need to do it quickly with just over 10 games remaining in the regular season.
After being labelled a championship contender following the signing of Rondo, they look anything but at a critical stage of the season and Ellis may be considering his options after this season.
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