Posted on Sun, Oct. 08, 2006

Richardson determined to be healthy for opener

Swingman says he's on pace in his recovery from arthroscopic knee surgery


Warriors notebook

OAKLAND -- At Monday's media day, Warriors swingman Jason Richardson
made clear the depth of his commitment to come back from his
arthroscopic knee surgery in time for the team's season opener.

"I'm going to be in here doing whatever I can, night and day,"
Richardson said, motioning to the training room at the team's downtown
headquarters. "If I have to sleep in here, bring a pillow and sleep on
that couch, I'm going to be in there to get back to the playing shape
that I'm capable of being in and being ready for (opening night)."

Apparently, the couch snooze won't be necessary.

Richardson said he was set to run some sprints -- his first of training
camp -- on Saturday evening, hopes to partake in non-contact drills as
early as Tuesday and feels "like I'm on pace" to face the Los Angeles
Lakers on Nov. 1.

That last piece will hinge, at least in part, on getting the OK in a
final checkup from his surgeon on Friday.

In the meantime, he's been trying to soak up coach Don Nelson's new
schemes by simple observation.

"I try to talk to the assistant coaches as much as I can, try to get the
play calls down, try to get the timing right," Richardson said. "I'm
just trying to do as much as a I can from the sidelines."

Monta returns

Second-year guard Monta Ellis finally got in the mix, scrimmage-wise, on
Friday night and impressed Nelson with his quickness and his passing
skills from the shooting guard spot.

After watching so much film of Ellis, Nelson said, "It was nice to see
him on the floor. I liked what I saw."

It'll be an interesting battle for playing time between Ellis and Dajuan
Wagner, a similarly undersized two-guard who has made huge strides after
missing nearly two full years dealing with medical problems that led to
the removal of his colon.

Both players can fill it up in a hurry, so the choice may come down to
other areas.

"If they can guard and make free throws, that's going to definitely add
to their minutes on the floor," Nelson said.

Said Richardson: "It's going to be intense. There's going to be a lot of
scoring from both. It's going to be on the coach. I'm glad I don't have
to make that decision."

Off the glass

Today marks the end of double-day sessions, as mandated by NBA rules.
The Warriors will hold their open-to-the-public event on Monday -- 6
p.m. at the Arena, admission free -- then go back to the standard
mid-day practices. Nelson said the team didn't show any fatigue from its
workload, and was able to absorb much more than he expected. "I put way
more in than I thought," Nelson said. "I thought I'd do about half of
this for opening day." ... Nelson said he had put together for his
players a scouting report on Efis Pilsen, the Turkish club the Warriors
will face in their exhibition opener on Thursday. That's an unusual step
for a game that doesn't count in the standings, but Nelson doesn't want
the Warriors to be another NBA team to lose to a European squad this
fall (as Philadelphia and the Los Angeles Clippers have done): "I don't
want to lay an egg."

-- Geoff Lepper