By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

OAKLAND — Warriors guard Monta Ellis participated Tuesday in his first 5-on-5 drills of the season, mostly of the half-court variety. And with the team announcing that Marco Belinelli would miss 10 days, at a minimum, because of his badly sprained right ankle, the idea of seeing Ellis get on the court must be growing that much more alluring.

Ellis played on the White team (the reserves), in a small ball lineup alongside C.J. Watson, Marcus Williams (back from the flu), Jermareo Davidson and Rob Kurz. Ellis still wasn’t going 100 percent — this was the portion of practice where the Warriors work on individual sets, so it was a clear step down from the level of effort in a full-court scrimmage — but it is the closest he’s come to full-speed work since tearing up his left ankle in an August moped accident.

Ellis guarded Corey Maggette at the 3, and his mid-range jumper looked as smooth as ever as he dropped it in from 18 feet over Jamal Crawford and Anthony Morrow.

On the occasions when the teams would sprint downcourt (which would happen after the defense came up with a stop and a defensive board), Ellis often remained in the middle of the pack. But there were flashes of the player who was one of the two biggest reasons behind Golden State’s 48 wins last season. . .

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By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

At a Warriors practice last week, Golden State captain Stephen Jackson stood on the sideline talked for roughly 10 minutes with team president Robert Rowell and minority owner Michael Marks.

I have no idea what the gist of the conversation was, but Rowell needs to have another meeting with Jackson, with one simple message:

Sit down until you’re healthy.

Like Oscar De La Hoya’s cornermen after watching him get pummeled for eight rounds at the hands of Manny Pacquiao last week, someone has to step in and say it, because Jackson refuses to admit what’s obvious to everyone — that his injured left hand is crippling his effectiveness on the floor right now.

Jackson showed reporters this week how his middle finger is misaligned, and said that the ligaments had been pushed out of place when he originally incurred the injury against Boston on Nov. 26 (his hand got caught in a Celtic’s jersey as Jackson tried to fight through a screen). Nevertheless, he steadfastly refuses to ask off the floor in games, even after he takes a shot and can clearly be seen between plays rubbing the hand to try and ease the pain.

The team has not given any indication that Jackson needs anything other than rest to get better. If that’s the case, then the rest should start immediately.

Jackson was 1-for-13 from the floor in the Warriors’ 123-105 loss to the Nuggets on Saturday. Teams are overplaying his right hand now, knowing that he can’t get anything going on a dribble with his left.

That’s bad enough, but let’s be honest: Even if Jackson had been playing at his 2007-08 level against the Nuggets on Saturday, does anyone really think that would have turned the tide? On a night where Don Nelson’s top three possibilities at power forward — Corey Maggette, Brandan Wright and Ronny Turiaf — are all off the floor? Maybe an 18-point defeat becomes an eight-point margin. But there’s not much more to it than that.

The only way the Warriors are going to make the playoffs — assuming you’re not joining the Tank Brigade after a quarter of the season — is if they win a stunning proportion of the games once Monta Ellis comes back. We’re talking a 65, 70, 75 percent proportion.

Running Jackson out for 31 minutes on back-to-back nights in games where the Warriors already have next to no hope because of their myriad other…