Upon further review, I have to say I’m revising my opinion; Monta Ellis CAN be an All-Star. But to get there, he can’t have Trady McGrady lose. He has to have McGrady win.

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By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

Your daily guided tour through the national and local media coverage of the always-entertaining Golden State Warriors.

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San Francisco Chronicle (Rusty Simmons): Nobody does internally directed criticism like Don Nelson: “They posted when they wanted, they penetrated when they wanted, and they made us pay whatever price they wanted. We just didn’t compete.”

Also, Anthony Morrow and Chris Hunter will have the remainder of their contracts guaranteed this week, unless the team waives them. There’s no chance of that happening with Morrow, but there’s still a little bit of doubt on Hunter, although I’d hazard a guess that it’s a 90 to 95 percent “yes.” The team is expected to make its decision on Monday.

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By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

I have to admit, I didn’t think much of all the praise being lavished upon the Warriors in the wake of their two “close” defeats in Cleveland and Boston earlier this week. I thought the only things missing from all the happy chatter were some freshly-sectioned oranges and homemade Rice Krispie treats, because it all had that air of youth-soccerdom: Good job, way to go, you tried hard and that’s what matters.

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By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

I can’t decide which injury Monta Ellis’ stiff left ankle – which will keep him on the bench tonight in Los Angeles, as well as against Charlotte on Friday and Utah on Sunday – brings more readily to mind.

Is this like Baron Davis’ sprained ankle in 2005-06, when he ended up shutting it down for the remainder of the season?

Or is it like Jason Richardson’s arthroscopic knee surgery of the following season, when he ended up pushing too fast for a comeback and looked terrible — until a broken hand forced him to rest for several more weeks, and then he came on to play a huge role down the stretch?

Based on the Warriors’ record, the obvious answer is to treat Ellis’ setback as the former. He’s shown that he can at least take the floor, and occasionally reached for the level he was at last season – although it was only for a play or two a night, with two dozen instances of rust and regression for every highlight.

But everything hinges on the one thing Ellis has not shown much of: The ability to get lift off of that left leg.

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By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

Corey Maggette had an early growth spurt, so as a three-time All-American at Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Ill., he manned the low post.

More than a decade later, he’s going to be doing it all over again.

Small ball is back in vogue (if it ever could be said to have left) in Oakland, thanks to the Warriors putting together their first winning streak of the season via a 111-106 victory over Portland on Tuesday.

Coach Don Nelson cited the emergence of rookie guard Anthony Morrow, who led all scorers with 25 points, as the driving force behind the change. But none of it would work without Maggette at power forward, giving the Warriors a mismatch that they exploited fully, and surprisingly, against Portland’s LaMarcus Aldridge.

“If (Maggette) is able to play the 4 position, that really can change our team for the better,” Nelson said. “That’s where we like to have him. He’s strong enough to guard. We’ll give him a lot of help when he has mismatches. But I don’t know how they guard him with a 4. I just don’t. They can’t.”

They certainly didn’t on Tuesday, when Maggette scored 20 points against an assortment of forwards: primarily Aldridge, Channing Frye and Travis Outlaw.

More importantly, Maggette drew three offensive fouls on Aldridge, helping to drive him from the game after 19 1/2 Teddy KGB-like minutes (“I feel so un-say-tis-fied”): 2-for-7 shooting, four points (13 off his average) and four rebounds.

When Aldridge was matched up with Maggette, the Blazers looked for him practically every time downcourt. But when he got the ball (usually 12 to 15 feet out on the left wing) the Warriors would often run a second player at him — not in a hard trap, but a soft double that allowed them time to get back and recover. It was meant to convince Aldridge to give up the ball early in the possession, rather than allowing him the opportunity to back Maggette down, and it often worked.

But even when Aldridge did try to attack Maggette, it failed. He couldn’t get any traction, and settled for an 0-for-4 performance in head-to-head matchups with Maggette. (Aldridge’s buckets came over Morrow and Stephen Jackson).

“I think I’m going to be in a position, as well as Jack, where we might play 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5,” Maggette said earlier this season. “Am I ready for that? Yeah. I’m going…