Ellis answers a call of his own with a career performance in the Kings loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SACRAMENTO – About eight hours before tipoff against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, Keon Ellis was asked about players stepping up to fill the void left by several injured Kings.
“That’s just a place for anybody to come in and step up and show what they can do,” Ellis said after the Kings’ shootaround Monday morning. “So with guys out, I mean, we’re a team for a reason. One guy goes down. , it’s next man up.”
Little did he know – or the rest of the world -, that would be him.
Ellis went from an undrafted two-way player to an effective starter for Sacramento last season after turning heads with his defense and locking down big-name superstars like Steph Curry.
He was always effective from 3-point range, shooting almost 44 percent from beyond the arc during his time with Sacramento’s G League affiliate, the Stockton Kings. But playing alongside players like De’Aaron Fox and DeMar DeRozan, who demand the ball so much, and shooters like Kevin Huerter and Keegan Murray, Ellis always thought of never “doing too much” and playing his role of. whatever the team asks and needs from him.
Monday night, with DeRozan, Domantas Sabonis and Malik Monk all out due to injuriesthe Kings needed Ellis to be aggressive on the offensive end of the floor. He rose to the challenge.
“Hell job by Keon,” Kings coach Mike Brown said after Sacramento’s 109-108 blowout loss to Atlanta. “We were with him about if you are open, to leave that thing. And tonight, he let it go. He is a good shooter.
“He shot [44 percent] of the 3 when he was in the G-League. Last year, he was around 40. So we know he could shoot a basketball. And it was great to see him step into it and let it fly tonight.”
Ellis let it fly six times without missing before finally eyeing one 3-ball rim out midway through the second quarter. He was 6 of 8 from beyond the arc before halftime.
Three minutes and 32 seconds after checking in in the third quarter, he surpassed his career high in points after knocking down three more triples. His previous high was 26 against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the end of last season.
During his heater, several of Ellis’ teammates such as Malik Monk and Trey Lyles were seen on the NBC Sports California game broadcast with great reactions to his 3-point take-offs.
Ellis revealed after the game what his teammates and coaches told him in the middle of it all.
“Guys kept saying let it fly. Same with the coaches,” he said. “I think Kevin said to me during one break, ‘That’s how you have to chase shots and step into it a little bit, just let it fly. Don’t really think about it. If you feel it, especially at the point where you feel it a little bit, just keep trying to chase shots.’ Everyone kept saying, Keep shooting it.
“So I think everybody knew I was on fire. So they just didn’t want me to hit three 3s or something and then try to go out there and pump fake the next one and try to make a play or anything. They just wanted me come out and try to still be aggressive.”
Ellis finished with 33 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field and 9 of 15 from beyond the arc, with six rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block in 33 minutes off the bench. He tied Doug McDermott for a team-high plus-15 in plus/minus rating.
“It was great,” Fox said after the game of Ellis’ performance. “I mean, even just looking over his career, he’s a 40 percent 3-point shooter. I don’t think people have given him the credit he deserves. I think if we start winning at a high level then I think guys, or I guess national people, will start to see it.
“But the way he shot the ball tonight was definitely unbelievable for us and kept us in the game. He had big moments for us, even getting to the [free-throw] line along the stretch. He was big for us today.”
The 24-year-old entered Monday’s contest averaging 5.3 points on 34.4 percent shooting from 3-point range on 2.5 attempts per game this season.
Sacramento wants, and often needs, Ellis to attempt more 3s than he has — especially when he’s open. But he passed up several chances in previous games, leading to missed chances and some frustrating turnovers.
To him, though, he says he’s increasingly focused on making the right play when looking for his shot. After Monday’s performance, he finally understood that maybe sometimes the right play is he shooting the ball.
“Probably a little bit of always trying to make the right play,” Ellis said of his hesitation to shoot this season. “Sometimes the right play is just for you to just step in and shoot it, even if there’s a guy open on the one-plus. [pass]. Especially with the start we’ve had, just trying to get out there and every chance I have to try to make the aggressive play, instead of always trying to make the one-plus or whatever it is. But keep trying to play the right way.”
The Kings don’t need Ellis to drop 30-plus every night, especially after they get their reinforcements back in DeRozan, Sabonis and Monk.
But his offensive aggressiveness can be just as effective as his defensive aggressiveness going forward for Sacramento, even with its Big Three back intact.
“When everybody comes back, we know what kind of talent we have on this team,” Ellis said. “So I think if you add half the shots that I took tonight when everybody comes back, I think that just takes us to a whole other level as a team. So just trying to keep that aggression and trying to get in where I . can.”
Ellis is one of the more reserved, even-tempered players on the team.
Even after his two-way contract converted to a standard NBA contract late last season, he remained level headed and laser focused on trying to help the Kings keep their playoff hopes alive.
His response after Monday’s career performance? Giving credit to his teammates for helping make it all happen.
“I think that just has to do with the talent we have on the floor,” Ellis said. “You’re going to kind of force the role players to beat you. So if I make some 3s, I’m pretty confident. [the Hawks] will adjust a little. But I’m not like a Fox type of player where the teams would just double me or try to blitz me or anything.
“They’re going to keep trying to see if I can keep it up. So I think Fox is still applying pressure where they have to really focus on him, and he’s creating the open looks. We still have other guys that you’ve got. watch out for. And then the shots comes from where they come from within the flow of the game. So I think that ends up being the case most often.”
He’s not wrong, but the humble response perfectly embodied the player and person Ellis is.
And so Brown, coming out of his postgame press conference not happy with the loss his team had just suffered, gave one final shout out to the young guard.
“What Keon did was amazing,” Brown expressed as he exited the press room, making sure a disappointing loss didn’t overshadow the impressive performance.
