Warriors eager to get it started

Fast finish to last season sends expectations soaring.

After the first off-season in a decade in which the words "playoffs" and "Warriors" could be coupled in the same sentence without inducing a fit of giggles from whomever was listening, Baron Davis doesn't want to hear any more about it.

"The season is here," Davis said earlier this month. "It's time to step out on the floor and learn and do what we can. We can't continue to talk about it. We just have to start being and living in the now."

"If we don't make the playoffs, it's going to be a disappointment. And we know that," center Adonal Foyle said. "The way we finished last season, we put a lot of pressure on ourselves. We proved that we could do it. Now we have to do it regularly."

The biggest concern, as coach Mike Montgomery said, is at the other end: "If we can score 120 points, let's do it, but let's not give up 125. Let's have the ability to defend."

"Our defense is going to win us ballgames," Davis said. "I know it sounds crazy, but that's going to be the determining factor. I know we're going to outscore a lot of teams, but when you get in the middle of the season and on the long road trips, you've got to get some stops."