NBA training camp opens this week and the Warriors will be conducting workouts at the downtown Oakland practice facility.  New head coach Don Nelson will try and take virtually the same roster that won 34 games the past two seasons and guide them into the playoffs in a very tough Western Conference.  The roster is pretty much set, although it could change slightly between now and the start of the season if the Warriors are able to complete a rumored sign and trade deal with the Charlotte Bobcats for backup Center Melvin Ely.  Unlike years past where the teams strategy has been shrouded by a veil of secrecy, coach Nelson has put his game plan out front for all to see.  This strategy will take away any possibility for excuses by the players or coaches and people will either do their jobs or they will be relegated to the bench, it's just that simple. 

The Warriors will be running a mostly small ball lineup with three guards leading the way.  Jason Richardson will assume the majority of the Small Forward duties while the smaller, quicker guards Monta Ellis and Dajuan Wagner will anchor the shooting guard position.  Baron Davis if healthy should be able to have one of his best seasons in this system because he will be given a lot of freedom and be able to operate primarily as a scorer while the ball handling and decision making will be shared with Point Power Forward Mike Dunleavy.  Dunleavy will be a key to executing the new offense, but if he should stumble early as he has in the past, Nelson will not hesitate to scrap the point forward idea and go even smaller with Mickael Pietrus.  Troy Murphy is the new center and will be asked to rebound and make open shots as well as creating matchup problems for some of the bigger, slower centers in the league.

From a competition standpoint their aren't too many positions up for grabs, however if a player can impress coach Nelson during training camp he could do a lot for his position in the rotation.  The wild cards are the new players that were acquired from Utah in the Derek Fisher trade.  Nobody really knows what to expect from Devin Brown, Keith McLeod and Andre Owens.  They could be big factors off the bench, or bought out and not even make the team...at this point I am not sure anybody knows what to expect from these three guys.  Newly signed Matt Barnes is an interesting addition and appears to have an outside shot to stick on the roster if a trade is made.  The current makeup of the roster makes it difficult to see how some sort of a trade isn't in the works.  With 16 players under contract and other potential training camp invitees a three for one swap sure would make a lot of sense.

The areas of concern for the team are no mystery and coach Nelson has made it pretty clear what they will need to do to improve the win loss total from the previous two seasons.  Emphasis on free throw shooting and fourth quarter decision making will be paramount.  Conditioning will be a major factor as well, since the game plan calls for pushing the tempo at all times.  If players come into camp out of shape or unwilling to buy into the new team philosophy it will be a long year for that player.  The players that should be able to easily transition into Nelson't system are all of the guards, Mike Dunleavy, and Troy Murphy.  The rest of the roster is going to have to make some serious adjustments to their games in order to maintain any type of consistent playing time.  They will have their work cut out for them with one of the least talented rosters in the western conference, but if Nelson can get this group of versatile players to buy into his concepts and play as a team anything is possible.  After a decade plus of total ineptitude, at the very least, this year the excuses will not be acceptable and players will have to answer the bell and play the game the right way or they simply won't play.