There are trick shots. (See: LeBron James’ underhand half-courter or Dude Perfect.)

And then there are Trick Shots.

Like what Monta Ellis pulled off yesterday at Oracle Arena:

WOW. I mean no hyperbole or exaggeration when I write this: I could spend one hour a day for the rest of my life trying this, and I might never make this shot.

It’s that ridiculous.

HT: Ball Don’t Lizzle/CSN Bay Area

… who have no wins, but aren’t in last place!

This is seriously a tremendous feat, and something I’m not sure I’ve ever quite realized is a possiblity. Even in losing, you’re a winner. A second-to-last place winner.

Last night, a bit before midnight, I decided to check Twitter on my phone as I lay in bed. (Ladies, please contain yourselves as you imagine what this might look like in your head.)

And it was blowing up with Shannon Brown. You know, Proviso East star, Michigan State star, NBA afterthought. In fact, there was so much Shannon Brown talk, he became a top trending topic. (But not ahead of Glee!)

Anyway, I clicked through to watch this dunk of his over Mikki Moore everyone was talking about, and yeah:

Wow. Sometimes it’s worth putting off sleep.

Much love, Ball Don’t Lie.

Which is an OK quality to have, provided you’re not a professional basketball player. It’s far less endearing when “honesty” means “kind-of-sort-of insulting your new teammate before you ever play with him.” But that’s exactly what Monta Ellis managed to do at media day yesterday.

On the subject of how he expects he and first-round draft pick Stephen Curry to get along on the court — the Warriors are planning on playing both combo scoring guards at the same time, which I think sounds interesting — Ellis didn’t hold back. As a matter of fact, he pretty much dismissed the idea outright:

Curry was asked about playing with Ellis a number of times Monday and said, “I think we would work well together.” Ellis disagrees. “Us together? No,” Ellis said. Asked why not, he said, “Just can’t.” Reminded that the folks running the team see things differently, he said, “They say we can, but, can’t. I just want to win. We’re not going to win that way.”

To be fair, Ellis provides strategic reasons why it won’t work. He thinks both guards are too small for “when the game slows down.” And he may have something of a point. But it’s reasonable to wager the real reason for Ellis’ brutal honesty is that he feels threatened. He’s right. Curry is a very similar player to himself. If Curry shines, Ellis becomes expendable, at least in his own mind. He has every personal, professional reason to ensure that doesn’t happen. I get it. It may not be polite, but it happens in offices and cubicles everywhere every single day. Let’s not be shocked.

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