I was just reading John Hollinger’s chat on ESPN.com from yesterday. One of the questions was about Monta Ellis and whether he deserves to be an All-Star. I was surprised by Hollinger’s response. He throws in a disclaimer saying he’s not trying to make this a rip job, but that doesn’t change what it is. I’ll throw it out there for you and you can tell me what you think.

Here’s the question:

Should Monte Ellis be an all-star? There isn’t a guard in the league as fast as him and despite playing on a team with 3 D leaguers the warriors still manage to win some games.

Here’s Hollinger’s answer:

The Warriors are pushing him really hard for it, but honestly I don’t think he’s anywhere close to good enough to make it. His team has won 12 games all year and yet they play dramatically better when he’s off the floor; that’s a pretty damning statement there. Ellis has a high scoring average but once you let out the air from the hyper pace and all the minutes he plays, it’s not that impressive. Additionally, he’s one of the league’s least efficient offensive players; he also creates little for others despite having several talented scorers around him. I don’t mean to turn this into a rip job — he’s a talented young player who is pretty good right now and will only get better. But promoting him as an All-Star is completely preposterous.

I was surprised at his answer, to say the least. I don’t think Ellis will make the All-Star team and I don’t think that’s a mistake; there are more deserving players. But to say that promoting Ellis as an All-Star is “completely preposterous?” I don’t get that. I know stats don’t tell the whole story, but 26.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5.5 assists are All-Star numbers. You can make excuses about Ellis’ plus-minus, the Warriors’ offensive pace and his team’s low win total, but that’s not enough to discount what he’s done this season.

Ellis deserves a little more respect than that.