Team page/schedule | Stats: Preseason | Roster
Last year: 17-65, seventh in Pacific, 13th in conference
Coach/GM: Dave Cowens/Garry St. Jean
Arena, first game: Arena in Oakland (19,596); Nov. 8, 1997
All-time franchise record/NBA titles: 1,984-2,276/3
Notable: Rebounding wasn't a problem (2nd in league, 1st on offense)

THE ROTATION
Pos	Player	Key Stat	Skinny
PG	Larry Hughes	.383 FG	Wild player is big risk at the point
SG	Jason Richardson	rookie	Michigan State kid will help Warriors run
SF	Antawn Jamison	24.9 ppg	Back-to-back 50s prove he is scorer
PF	Danny Fortson	6 games	In 6 games he got 16 pts, 16 boards
C	Marc Jackson	13.2 ppg	Figured he'd end up somewhere else
6th	Mookie Blaylock	.396 FG	Steals monster, might supplant Hughes
7th	Bob Sura	53 games	One of newcomers who didn't stay healthy
8th	Troy Murphy	rookie	They need scoring, and he can do that

		The Warriors seem to be a little bit better. They have the unwilling Marc Jackson back; he's not very pleased about it, but that's life. He will still play well. Erick Dampier and Adonal Foyle can do a serviceable job in the middle. Danny Fortson, if he can stay healthy, will help them with his strong rebounding ability. They are in good shape at point guard with Mookie Blaylock and Vonteego Cummings, and I like Larry Hughes and backup Bobby Sura at the two guard. Antawn Jamison had a breakout year and will put points on the board. Rookie Troy Murphy will help them in the frontcourt, as will Chris Mills and Corie Blount. Jason Richardson might be a player to watch. However, the Warriors should not be improved enough to make the playoffs.

By Scott Howard-Cooper
Special to ESPN.com

No one has gotten hurt, so the season is off to a great start. Unless you want to count Marc Jackson being brought back kicking and screaming, Larry Hughes facing skeptics about the plans to play him more at the point and the potential for the distractions of constant trade rumors until one of the centers get traded, and then it's feeling a lot like the Warriors again.

Who's Who
Antawn Jamison is already good and will continue to get better -- his big jump last season was adding a perimeter game and he concentrated this summer on improving his ballhandling. But his numbers should drop from the 24.9 points and 8.7 rebounds of 2000-01 because of one new teammate and another who might as well be. Jason Richardson came in the draft and will play shooting guard, helping prompt the moves of Hughes to ballhandler. The former Michigan State standout is athletic and defends and has size at 6-6, 220 pounds, and he will take some of the scoring load from Jamison. So will Danny Fortson, except that most of his opportunities will come from offensive rebounds, meaning Jamison's stats will take a hit there, too. He shouldn't mind. The presence of another offensive threat, on a team that averaged 92.5 points last season, will open the court for everyone and the return of Fortson will mean the opportunity for more second-chance baskets for the Warriors. Fortson averaged 16.3 boards in the first six games of his first run in Golden State, only to be forced out the final 76 by a foot injury, and said he is healthy again. "He's been great," coach Dave Cowens said. "Some of these guys that got beat up and were injured and had doubts about whether they were going to be able to do the thing they love to do... they're feeling young, like they should feel because that's what they are, and they're able to utilize their bodies and do the work they want to do. So he's flourishing in the moment right now, just being able to knock people around and pursuing rebounds."

Troy Murphy, the other lottery pick, will play at forward, along with Chris Mills, back after an ankle injury limited him to 35 games. The two other rookies, Richardson and second-rounder Gilbert Arenas, are in the backcourt. The biggest hit could be for Chris Porter, who averaged 28.3 minutes last season after being picked in the second round. Health for the Warriors means less minutes for Porter.

	FANTASY SLEEPER
	Jason Richardson, SG -- The Warriors have Mookie Blaylock, but have mixed in Bob Sura and Larry Hughes at the point this preseason because they need to find PT for Richardson. His athleticism bubbles over. For now, he should be the first man off the bench, but don't be surprised if he's in the starting lineup before the new year. Hughes' and Sura's injury history makes it an even better bet.

The Big Question
The 2002 draft could be loaded with elite point guards, and the Warriors will be in the lottery, so the position gets even greater scrutiny in Golden State. If that's possible. Focus would have been on Mookie Blaylock and Hughes anyway, one trying to cling to the starting job and the other trying to carve out a new role. Blaylock turns 35 in March and hasn't shot better than 40 percent in any of the last four seasons, but he is also a valued perimeter defender and still strong enough to play 34.1 minutes per game a year ago.

Best/Worst Case Scenario
They'll obviously improve on 17 wins. But the Warriors are still the second-worst team in the West, saved from the bottom only by the Memphis Grizzlies, so getting to 30 would be an accomplishment, what with the backcourt in transition, no real answers at center and little depth. At worst, it's the low 20s and everyone starts double checking to see if the lease is on a month-to-month deal.

OVERRATED	UNDERRATED	TEAM MVP
Larry Hughes. We realize he has yet to hit any sort of stride, but that shooting is horrific.	Danny Fortson. When he plays, he'll pound the glass like few others.	Antawn Jamison. Numbers might go down, but at least he's fulfilling the promise.