Baron's happy to let go of burden
By Geoff Lepper, MEDIANEWS
Article Last Updated:10/08/2006 02:40:51 AM PDT

OAKLAND - Baron Davis has shed much more than just the 15 pounds he's
no longer carrying around his midsection.

A year after generating so much hype that then-coach Mike Montgomery
jokingly likened him to a superhero sent to save Oakland, Davis is no
longer being counted on single-handedly to undo 12 years of failure on
the Warriors' part.

And that's much more than a 15-pound psychological load off the point
guard's mind.

"You can't really put it on one person," Davis said Saturday. "This is
a team, and teams win. That's what was so evident last year."

Although Davis hasn't yet started to skip during wind sprints or pull
one of the practical jokes he was known for with the Charlotte and New
Orleans Hornets, the change in his demeanor from last season is
starting to become apparent to others on the Warriors.

"As far as just being comfortable in where he's at, and in his skin, he
shows it a lot more now," said new Warriors assistant coach Stephen
Silas, who spent three seasons with Davis in the Hornets organization.
"He's back to being the BD I know."

Part of the transformation is a conscious effort on Davis' part to have
more fun in the workplace. Over lunch in Los Angeles this summer,
13-time All-Star center Shaquille O'Neal of the Miami Heat told Davis
that he was trying too hard to be great, and needed to let the game
come to him.

"He was just like, if I just love what I do, everything else will take
its course. And I kind of
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took that advice and used that as motivation, coming from one of the
greats," Davis said. "He explained how once he stopped putting pressure
on himself to perform so well, that's when he started winning, that's
when he started playing better and winning championships."

Davis faced that kind of pressure and then some as a Warrior. And
though he said that he has no problem being the image of a franchise
- pointing out that in New Orleans, "every billboard in the city had
my face on it" - there were other, more onerous demands placed on him
last season.

Not only was he Golden State's go-to player, but he also had to serve
as an on-court coach and translator for Montgomery, who had zero NBA
experience before taking over the Warriors.

It proved to be a difficult load.

"BD is the kind of person who internalizes a lot of things. You can
really see it on his face when things are not going well," Silas said.
"He gets here, and there was so much pressure put on him. ... It was
definitely noticeable."

Teammate Jason Richardson got an up-close-and-personal view as Davis
tried to shoulder the myriad responsibilities.

"I think it was a lot of pressure on him, to the point where he
couldn't really perform," Richardson said. "He was worried about
everybody and all the stuff going on, so that he didn't have time to
worry about his own game. I don't think the game was fun for him."

Last season, the pick-and-roll with Davis controlling the ball was the
Warriors' most frequently called set, to the point where Montgomery's
own players began to wonder aloud about the wisdom of relying too
heavily on Davis' skills.

That won't be a problem this time around. Nelson said he's looking
forward to utilizing Davis' post-up abilities, something the Warriors
tried to exploit last season, and Davis pointed to an array of talents
he can unleash off the ball, such as popping off screens for jumpers or
even setting screens himself.

"It's not what he's asking me to do. It's what he's not asking me to
do," Davis said. "He's not asking me to have the ball in my hand all
the time, to get a pick-and-roll every play. I'm just playing
basketball."

As for the notion that Davis can't play that style, he rejects that
theory.

"I've always been comfortable without the ball," Davis said. "I played
in the backcourt with David Wesley for five years, so there were two
point guards. A lot of times in Charlotte and New Orleans, I played off
the ball anyways, because I was the leading scorer. I don't need the
ball to be effective."

He all doesn't need the mantle of being the franchise player, or having
the Warriors be known as "his" team.

"I'm not tripping on that at all, man. I don't care whose team it is,
that's just not where I'm at anymore," Davis said.

"Whoever steps up and becomes a leader on this team, that's whose team
it is. It's not my team. It's coach Nelson's team and I'm here to play.
.. . . If I can channel all of my energy on me, and focus on making
myself better each play, then I think that it's going to speak for
itself."

Said Richardson: "Last year, he was kind of overloaded with trying to
make sure everyone knew this and that. Now, he's letting guys like
myself talk to the younger guys instead of it always being him, and
that's taken a lot of stress off of him."

Hey, even a superhero needs a break every now and again.

Allen wrote:



Allen, it's probably not necessary for you or me to post articles
attributed to MediaNews. That seems to be a mechanism for the Bay Area
newspapers to share each other's content, and both the MediaNews
articles you posted today (Sunday) are from the CCT. I had actually
posted both of them this morning.

--Robin

Robin Miller wrote:


I hadn't caught that. I'll hold off then.