OAKLAND, Calif. -- Here are five observations of the Golden State Warriors from training camp:

	Gilbert Arenas plays like a point now but may not start.

1. Gilbert Arenas might just be a point guard. His teammates and firsthand observations last season suggested there was no way Arenas could be in charge of an NBA offense, particularly one that needs a wise and steady hand as the Warriors', but he managed to stay under amazingly reasonable control during the first couple of exhibitions. He still has a hair-trigger temper that can completely shatter his focus, but he has the size, speed and tenacity to defend the point. Talk is that Bobby Sura will start once he gets healthy, even though he's not exactly Captain Conservative. There's no one in the league I'd like to see make it more than Rafer Alston -- Skip to My Lou to New York streetballers -- but all his ball tricks can't keep him from getting eaten up defensively and the jump shot is balky.

2. Troy Murphy is not backing down from anyone, which is inspiring, but will it ultimately be effective? Murphy, flexing the 20-some pounds of muscle he added over the summer, lost a battle trying to get physical with Rasheed Wallace, fouling out as Wallace converted a four-point play -- Arenas, temporarily losing his mind, picked up a T in the mix -- but stood staring at Wallace and the rest of the Blazers from the bench, as if to say, "You'll be seeing me again." Said Blazers coach Maurice Cheeks admiringly: "Those Golden State kids keep coming at you."

3. Jiri Welsch can help them more right now than Mike Dunleavy Jr. There's no question Jr. has skills and a place in the league, but Welsch's pro experience over in Europe is evident. He's much better attacking the basket or shooting off the dribble. Jr., despite being smart enough to get open and confident enough to jack it -- he took eight in 14 minutes vs. Portland -- is still figuring out how to use his head to combat his size and speed disadvantages at the NBA level, which leaves him all too often standing on the court with a "Hmmm" expression. Trust that coach Eric Musselman will find a way to bring Dunleavy along without crushing his confidence or burying him on the bench.

4. Paging Jason Richardson, paging Jason Richardson. Center Stage is waiting, Mr. Richardson. He has all the talent, the personality and certainly the crazy hops. So how come I forget he's on the floor for minutes at a time? Why are the numbers solid but only occasionally eye-popping? It's certainly easy to get lost in the Warriors' jumbled style, but Richardson is good enough to rise above that. Is he too nice or too limited in the half-court game? This is the year for him to step forward and stake his claim to the 2-guard spot because Welsch and Dunleavy Jr. have shooting strokes and passing skills that will make it increasingly hard to keep them off the floor.

5. Adonal Foyle is their best scoring big man in the post, and that's a problem. Center Erick Dampier is averaging a rebound about every three minutes in the postseason, which is a very nice clip, but he can't consistently finish around the basket to save his life. Or career. He has the size to get great position and everything looks reasonably OK until the ball finds the rim, bounces around and then off. Every shot appears to have a chance of falling but doesn't. The clean jump hook that drops is about as common as sightings of general manager Garry St. Jean or owner Chris Cohan. (By the way, when did St. Jean, the former good-time-Charlie and aw-shucks-media-pal, become freakin' Ava Gardner? Nothing conveys a job mishandled more than the walking sound bite who suddenly won't answer the door.) Not to slobber all over Musselman, but I like how he's handling Danny Fortson as well. Fortson easily could be this year's Marc Jackson, but when speculation arose that Fortson might not make the rotation, Musselman quelled it quickly. Danny knows the Warriors would love to move him, but Musselman is keeping him in the mix, getting what he can out of him.

Ric Bucher covers the NBA for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at ric.bucher@espnmag.com.