Blessedly:
Ellis, immobilized at Warriors practice, leaves hospital under his own power
Updated: October 6, 2007, 8:59 AM ET
Golden State Warriors guard
Monta Ellis left a Hawaii hospital of his own accord shortly before midnight, just hours after suffering an injury that had him immobilized and carted off the court during a training camp practice.
A battery of tests, including an MRI and a CT scan, came back normal and the injury is being diagnosed as a neck sprain, according to team officials. Ellis is listed as day-to-day.
Ellis is not likely to play in either exhibition against the Lakers this week as a precautionary measure.
According to ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher, the 21-year-old Ellis was trying to split a double team on a pick-and-roll when he went down Friday night. Ellis lay face down, prone for more than 25 minutes.
He was taken to Castle Medical Center in Kailua, which is about 40 minutes from the BYU-Hawaii campus where the Warriors are holding camp.
The team's trainer was able to speak to Ellis, so it appeared he was conscious, but there were no noticeable responses to tests for motion, particularly from the shoulders down.
Ellis was strapped onto a board to get him on a stretcher to be taken off the court, according to Bucher.
Brandan Wright, who apparently set the pick on the play, said Ellis banged his head on Wright's hip before turning and falling to the ground, reported The Contra Costa Times on its Web site.
In April, Ellis won the Most Improved Player award for his transformation from an unsung Mississippi high schooler to a speedy scoring threat for the improving Warriors.
Ellis edged Sacramento's Kevin Martin by three points in the closest voting in the award's history, earning 47 first-place votes and 352 points from a media panel. Martin, the Kings' high-scoring guard, got 44 first-place votes and 349 points.
Ellis averaged 16.5 points, 4.1 assists and 3.2 rebounds this season with new coach Don Nelson and the revitalized Warriors, who returned to the playoffs after a 12-year absence.
The second-round pick's improvement on his 6.8-point scoring average in his rookie season was the NBA's largest increase this year, and he caught the nation's attention with a dunk-filled 28-point performance in the Rookie Challenge during All-Star weekend.
Information from ESPN The Magazine senior writer Ric Bucher and The Associated Press was used in this report.
Link