Richardson intends to be ready for opener
By Geoff Lepper, MEDIANEWS
Article Last Updated:10/08/2006 02:40:54 AM PDT


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 free open-to-the-public
event on Monday at 6 p.m. at the Arena - then go back to the standard
midday 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 didn't
want to be another NBA team to lose to a European squad this fall
(Philadelphia and the Los Angeles Clippers have both lost): "I don't
want to lay an egg."