"There's disadvantages and advantages any way you look at it. We're going to look at things in a positive way and say that we've got a young, fresh team that everybody came in shape this year. I think that our whole entire first unit has been very cohesive in these first few days of practice and it's going to take that for us to get better defensively as a group," said Warriors power forward David Lee.
Jackson is all about defense; that hasn't exactly been the strong suit of the Warriors explosive, yet undersized backcourt of Monta Ellis and Steph Curry, but in the words of Bob Dylan, "times, they are a changin'."
"You know, we got a great head coach, Mark Jackson. It's a new environment and we can just feel it. We just have to take advantage of our schedule that we have. We have the first four home games here. It's set for us to start off and really take advantage of the opportunity that we have," said Ellis.
As Lee mentioned, youth may be the Warriors greatest strength, especially early on. In a shortened 66-game season, a fast start is more important than ever.
"It's not just about us two. It's about the lineup, the roster that we are trying to build and we have now that will make that happen. Me and Ta are going to do our part, other guy's are going to do their part and Coach Jackson is going to lead us, so I'm excited about it," said Curry.
Their first regular season night is Christmas night against the Clippers.