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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted at 6:16 a.m., Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Golden St. opens Hawaii camp with high expectations

By JAYMES SONG
AP Sports Writer

LA'IE — The Golden State Warriors opened camp with several new faces and much higher expectations than in previous years.

"Everybody's going to be gunning for us, so we're going to be in a different position than we were last year," Baron Davis said. "People are not going to expect the unexpected from us. They're going to know this is a good ballclub and they're going to get up for us, especially the way we finished last year."

The Warriors are coming off their most successful season in years, snapping a 12-year playoff drought. Golden State clinched a playoff spot on the final day of the regular season, then upset the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks in the first round, beating the NBA's best regular-season team in six games.

That was Golden State's first playoff series win since 1991 and just the third time an eighth seed had won an opening-round series. The Warriors lost their second-round series in five games to Utah, although most of the losses were close.

Coach Don Nelson said he expects to build on the team's playoff success.

"We're able to step right where we left off last year," said Nelson, who went 42-40 in his first season back with Golden State, where he also coached from 1988-95.

Davis, however, said it will be just as challenging to make the postseason this time.

"It's a whole new season. Teams have gotten better in the offseason. We're a new ballclub with new people in different positions," said Davis, who became a Bay Area star with his four 30-point games during the playoff run.

The biggest loss was Richardson, traded to Charlotte in a draft-day deal for No. 8 overall pick Brandan Wright. Richardson averaged 16 points and 6.7 rebounds in 51 regular-season games, then scored 19.1 per game in 11 playoff games.

Nelson said he wants to "stay big" at the 2-guard spot and will use Kelenna Azubuike, Italian rookie Marco Belinelli or Mickael Pietrus.

"I have a lot of 2s and they'll have to step up," he said.

Davis noted that the Warriors learned to adjust last season when Richardson was sidelined with knee injuries.

"He was hurt for a good portion of last season and we had some guys fill in," he said. "We're going to rely on those same guys and a lot of our new guys to fill that void."

The Warriors are young, with 11 of their 15 players under contract 27 or younger. The youngest is 19-year-old Wright, brought in to help the Warriors on the glass. The ACC's rookie of the year and tournament MVP as a freshman at North Carolina, averaged 14.7 points and 6.2 rebounds, while making nearly 65 percent of his shots.

The athletic, 6-foot-9 Wright, the only player with a mouth full of braces, said he's eager to learn and play in the Warriors' up-tempo offense. Being traded for a fan favorite like Richardson definitely adds pressure to do well, he said.

"But being in the position I'm in and always being in the spotlight, you always have the pressure on you," he said. "It's not a big deal. You just got to go out and do what you do best."

The Warriors are holding camp on the serene campus of BYU-Hawaii. They'll play two exhibition games next week against the Los Angeles Lakers, who are holding practices across the island in Honolulu.