Warriors point guard Marcus Williams working out, trying to put conditioning issues behind him

September 8, 3:35 PMGolden State Warriors ExaminerMatt Steinmetz

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Conditioning issues have dogged Williams 

Warriors fans haven’t had a whole lot of good news this summer, but hopefully here’s a little:

Point guard Marcus Williams seems to realize he’s got a big-time opportunity in front of him this season with the Warriors, and he plans on making the best of it.

The Warriors acquired Williams from the New Jersey Nets in early July, with the notion that he could provide minutes at backup point guard. Right then and there, he went from playing on one of the slowest teams in the NBA to one of the fastest.

Then, three weeks ago, Monta Ellis injured his left ankle, and Williams goes from a 15-minute per game backup to a potential 36-minute per game starter.

If, of course, he can handle it. That’s always been an issue with Williams.

Williams has been criticized over the course of his NBA career for never being in good shape. He’s trying to change that.

He was the only veteran working out at the Warriors’ facility last week, and he says he’s in the best shape at this point of the summer than he ever has been in the past.

I caught up with him for 10 minutes on Monday.

MS: "What’s your thought process now that Monta Ellis is going to miss significant playing time and you very well could wind up the starter?"

MW: "The first thing is to get in shape _ 40 minutes-a-game shape. That’s what I’ve been doing. I’m trying to get into game shape. Then the basketball will come naturally. When you’re tired, that’s when you make mistakes. I want to go longer stretches without being tired."

MS: "You’ve been criticized during your NBA career for a lack of conditioning, for not being in shape. Has that been fair?"

MW: "Yes. Yeah, it is. It’s hard (to stay in shape) if you’re not getting a chance to play. Then you get  minutes and it’s tough to be productive. I know that’s a selfish way to put it, though. But yes, that’s what I’ve been working on most: Getting into game shape."

MS: "One of the things I heard about you in New Jersey was that you played tentatively. Is that true?"

MW: "I would say so. I played behind Jason Kidd and you can easily play Jason Kidd almost all the game. I came in and tried to play mistake-free, tried to not do anything wrong."

MS: "You’ve gone from one of the lowest-scoring teams in the league to the highest. How nice is that?"

MW: "I’m definitely excited. I came from Jersey. They had a great style but it didn’t fit my style. Everything goes through a certain players there. Here, you feed the hot hand, you get running up and down and get everyone involved. And that’s the way I played in high school and college."

MS: "Have you talked to Don Nelson yet?"

MW: "I talked to him one time. First thing he said: “Make sure you’re in shape.” 

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By the way, you can tell things are really beginning to churn at 1011 Broadway. Williams, C.J. Watson, Anthony Randolph, Richard Hendrix, Anthony Morrow and Dion Dowell were all around ... single-game tickets for the 2008-09 season go on sale on Wednesday ... preparations already being made for preseason trip to China. ... Most, if not all of the assistant coaches, as well as the strength and conditioning staff, equipment guys, etc., all in work mode.