This off-season, Golden State Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Mullin attempted to change over the Warriors culture with the addition of Montgomery and hard-nosed veterans Derek Fisher and Dale Davis. Alas, Mullin might have been better served adding more offense. Golden State ranks a distant 26th in offensive efficiency, averaging just 95.8 points per 100 possessions. Without Richardson, they've been even worse, averaging 87.1 points in the seven losses (they're at 93.3 for the season). The Warriors have been good at avoiding turnovers this season, but they rank in the NBA's bottom five in offensive rebounding percentage (25.7%, better than only Houston), effective field goal percentage (.448, 28th) and free throws per attempted field goal (.215, 26th).

The Warriors offensive struggles are disappointing because, after years of porous defense, they have put together a squad that's pretty good defensively, ranking 11th in the NBA in points allowed per 100 possessions. Clifford Robinson, who finished eighth in last year's Defensive Player of the Year voting, and shot-blocker extraordinaire Adonal Foyle anchor the defense, while Fisher and reserves Calbert Cheaney and Mickael Pietrus are quality defenders on the perimeter.

The Sonics will get no sympathy from the Warriors as they worry about the status of their second-leading scorer, forward Rashard Lewis. After missing the second half of Wednesday's loss to the L.A. Clippers with left knee patella tendinitis, Lewis is listed as day-to-day and his status for tonight's game is uncertain. With tonight's game starting a five-game homestand, the Sonics want to take care of business against a team they're better than. They also want to reassert their dominance over the Warriors after losing last year's season series 3-1, the first time Golden State had beaten the Sonics since 1990-91.

G U A R D S
	In two seasons in Golden State since signing as a free agent last summer, Speedy Claxton has established himself as a quality starting point guard (even as the Warriors have brought in veteran point guards to push him, first Nick Van Exel and now Fisher). Blindingly quick (as guys named Speedy usually are), Claxton can get to the rim to score or set up teammates. On defense, he's a pickpocket of the highest order, averaging 1.8 steals per game. The important evolution in Claxton's game this year has been taking care of the ball, as he's pushed his assist-turnover ratio nearly to three. Sonics point guard Luke Ridnour, who has the quickness to keep up with Claxton, ranks fifth in the NBA in assist-turnover ratio at 3.60.
	At the end of an eight-year stint with the Lakers that saw him twice start for NBA Champions, Fisher saw heavy free-agent interest when he hit the market this summer. Golden State gave him a lucrative offer, and Fisher relocated to Northern California. Richardson's injury has given him a chance to start, and Fisher has averaged 12.8 points and 5.0 assists in that role, but with poor shooting (26.2% from the field). Overall, the shooting slump Fisher experienced all of last year has continued to plague him with the Warriors, as he's hitting just 35.4% from the field. Though Fisher is a good defender, his 6-1 size hurts him at shooting guard, and Ray Allen should be able to shoot over him. That might mean the Warriors start Cheaney at the two instead. Cheaney was a big reason Golden State held Allen to 16.0 points on 32.9% shooting last year.
F O R W A R D S
	Third-year forward Mike Dunleavy has yet to develop into the star the Warriors were hoping for when they took him third overall in the 2002 Draft. Dunleavy's skills are more befitting those of a complementary player, as he can shoot (35.8% career from three) and is a good ballhandler for a small forward with no major weaknesses. Dunleavy isn't aggressive enough and good enough at creating his own shot to be a go-to player on offense, however; he's averaged 11.7 and 11.6 points per game the last two seasons. The Sonics performance on Wednesday showed how important Lewis is to their offense. If he's unable to go, Antonio Daniels is likely to start in a small lineup, which would continue to provide the Sonics mismatches on the perimeter.
	After missing 54 games last season because of injury, Troy Murphy is healthy this year and back to his double-double form of 2002-03, averaging 16.0 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. Murphy's game continues to drift to the perimeter on offense; nearly 2/3 of his shot attempts this season have been jumpers, leading to career-low 40.3% shooting. His weakness, however, is at the defensive end of the court, where Murphy can be exploited by smaller, quicker players (read: Vladimir Radmanovic). Sonics forward Reggie Evans seems completely back from his stomach ailment after posting 11 points and nine rebounds against the Clippers on Wednesday.
C E N T E R
	Robinson was the start of the Warriors move towards veteran character guys who play good defense, and his defensive effort last season, combined with his good outside shooting, made up for his poor rebounding. Playing Robinson at center limits his value, however; at 6-10, 240, he's giving up a lot of size to opposing centers and he's not a particularly good help defender in the paint. As a result, the Warriors have actually been 10.4 points per 100 possessions worse on defense with Robinson on the floor, according to 82games.com. Tonight should be no exception; look for the Sonics to give some looks to Jerome James in the post early in the game, especially if Lewis, their top post scorer, does not play.
B E N C H
	Second-year guard Pietrus (right) - taken a pick ahead of Sonics forward Nick Collison and with a pick some thought the Warriors would use on Ridnour - leads the Warriors bench in scoring and minutes played. A terrific athlete, Pietrus has struggled with his shooting since getting healthy, shooting 38.5%. Cheaney is another part of the veteran/character/defense movement. Normally a near-50% shooter, Cheaney has seen his field-goal percentage slip to 42.1% this year. Foyle got a surprisingly large new contract this summer to stay with the Warriors. He's been his usual shot-blocking force (4.0 per 48 minutes) and is shooting nearly 50%, but Montgomery hasn't taken to Foyle's game. Second-year forward Zarko Cabarkapa, acquired recently from Phoenix, rounds out the rotation. Former Warriors big man Danny Fortson (left) will have some extra motivation tonight against his old team. Fortson played just 28 minutes against the Warriors last season, grabbing 14 rebounds. If Lewis can't play, Radmanovic's role becomes much more important, as he needs to make up some of the lost scoring and matchup problems Lewis poses. In the Sonics three wins this month, Radmanovic is averaging 19.0 points on 22-for-39 shooting. In their three losses, he's averaged 6.7 points on 8-for-37 shooting. Ronald "Flip" Murray has also picked up some minutes off the bench when Lewis has been sidelined during parts of the last two games.

TEAM LEADERS ALLEN RICHARDSON Allen 24.0 PPG Richardson 20.8 Evans 8.5 RPG Murphy 11.1 Ridnour 6.4 APG Claxton 5.7 Lewis/Ridnour 1.3 SPG Claxton 1.8 James 1.3 BPG Foyle 1.3 Allen 40.4 MPG Richardson 37.3