Monta Ellis' July moped injury is rearing it's ugly, helmet-less head again.
After only 13 games since coming back from the torn ligament and sprained ankle he endured from this summer's infamous moped wreck, Ellis is having a relapse of stiffness in that ankle and is projected to miss another 1-2 weeks.
But here's what you really hate to see: multiple projected return dates which are all over the map. It's never a good sign when a team can't keep it's story straight on when an injured player is supposed to return. The official party line is that Ellis will miss "at least one week." But he's been ruled out with certainty only for the next three games. A team executive admits to the Chronicle that "I don't know" the amount of time Ellis will miss. There's plenty of informed speculation that he may be kept out the remainder of the season. Most alarmingly, Janny Hu reports also in the Chronicle that Warriors brass are now re-opening the "Let's void his contract!" can of worms. If he has his contract voided, he will be missing the next upcoming Warriors games from now to-infinity.
Over at Golden State of Mind -- and seriously, somebody had better be keeping those guys on "sharp objects watch" now that the Warriors' season has taken yet another disastrous turn -- they're posing the question of whether Ellis was rushed back to action too quickly. This debate is surely taking place in the Warriors' front office as well, and all the vagueness about his return date has a real "abundance of caution" feel to it.
The good news is that the Warriors play seven of their next nine against bad teams with losing records. The bad news is that the Warriors themselves are a bad team with a losing record. And this latest development makes them a bad team with a losing record and their best player in street clothes indefinitely.
Joe Kukura is a freelance writer who will miss at least the next three games with a sore ego.
