The pair had the media and fans excited for what a full season together would bring.

The Warriors hit training camp next week with a ton of optimism. And why not? They have something no one else does in guards Baron Davis and Jason Richardson.

“We have the best backcourt in the NBA,” Davis said. “It’s the most underrated in the league, I should say that. … We’re definitely a backcourt to be reckoned with.”

Davis averaged 22.5 points and 9.4 assists in the 19 games he started after coming over from New Orleans and, as good as he was, he will be better next season. That’s because the point guard was playing with shoulder tendinitis, knee tendinitis and a sore Achilles tendon.

“I am running, lifting and getting in the best shape possible for camp,” Davis said.

Richardson immediately noticed how chiseled the point guard is.

“Oh yeah,” he said. “(Davis is) lighter … I think he’s lost 20 pounds. He’s moving with the ball well and getting to the basket. He’s a healthy Baron and that’s a scary thing.

“I think he really took this summer to get healthy because he knew this was going to be an important year for not only himself, but for this team as well. He knows there is a lot riding on him and the both of us are going to carry this team.”

The Warriors averaged 10.2 more points (105.4 to 95.2) after Davis’ arrival last season and their hot finish last season has some carryover.

“People are going to be gunning for us, especially playoff teams from last year,” Davis said. “We shook up some of the seeding and knocked some teams out of the playoffs. We’re no longer a surprise.”

It was those last few weeks of the season that has Richardson excited for this year.

“We were able to play together, feed off each other and learn each other’s games,” Richardson said. “There were times where I was cutting to the basket and he didn’t see me to throw the lob. Or he threw the lob and I didn’t cut. Toward the end of the season, we really were able to get on the same page.”

“It’s going to be great to go into camp and get the feeling back from those last weeks (of the season) and be together for a whole 82 games.”

The shooting guard agrees with Davis that the Warriors could be the best backcourt in the league.

Richardson and Davis each realizes that their development together will lead to good things.

“We’re both athletic, we both like to run, we both like to shoot and we feed off each other,” he said.

Richardson is no longer just a dunker, as he shot a career-high 44.6 percent, averaged 21.7 points and upgraded his defense. He has worked hard over his years here to quietly develop an all-around game. Besides the scoring average, he also posted career-highs in field goal percentage (44.6) and assists (3.9), as well as getting 5.9 rebounds per game.

“This summer, (I worked on) ball-handling and finding different ways to get to the basket,” Richardson said. “I also worked a lot on my free throw shooting.”

The pair of guards each realizes that their development together and complimenting skills will lead to good things for this potent Warriors offense.

“I take a lot of pressure off of him and he takes a lot off of me,” Richardson said. “I think teams just can’t double-team us now and have to play us honest. If you pay too much attention to me and him, then you have guys like Troy (Murphy), Mike (Dunleavy) and Ike (Diougu) that can punish you offensively.”

Davis points out that this will be the first time in his career that other teams can’t guard him with a bigger shooting guard.

“It will be hard for then to switch because Jason is so strong at the two-position,” Davis said.

With Davis back in Oakland in preparation for Training Camp, the pair has been squaring off in scrimmages.

“We usually play on opposite teams and we are going at each other,” Richardson said. “We both want our teams to win. I can’t wait for training camp to start. It’s going to be just as competitive.”

Monday, 9/26	Montgomery Settles Into Second Season
Tuesday, 9/27	Three In Good Company
Thursday, 9/29	Backcourt Duo of Davis and Richardson Ready for Full Season Together
Friday, 9/30	Warriors.com Training Camp Home Launch
Monday, 10/3	Behind-the-scenes Media Day 2005
Tuesday, 10/4	2005-06 Warriors Ready To Pick Up Where They Left Off
Wednesday, 10/5	Daily Training Camp Recaps, Exclusive Photo Galleries, Audio Interviews and much more