Ricky vs. Jiri, Day 1

Looks like we've got a competition for the starting 3 spot. Nobody is surprised by this, but I think it would have been a mistake to come in and hand the job right to Ricky after Jiri did such a good job last year. And if you agree with Simmons, then throw Allen in the mix as well. Meanwhile Doc gives us some good old fashioned coach-speak:

"'The guy who doesn't start could be one of the five best players on our team,' said Rivers. 'We just feel that he might be better coming off the bench. I don't know who that's going to be yet. You know Gary [Payton] and Paul and Mark [Blount] and Raef [LaFrentz], but that other spot is the one that's open. Starting means nothing to me. It's the five guys that finish. You should want to be a finisher.'"

Gary is also taking a leadership role right away:

``Gary grabbed Marcus five or six times and told him the right way to do things, and that was great,'' Rivers said after the morning session. ``He came in with a great frame of mind and he came in hard. He plays hard, and he likes running the floor. He acted like he was just let out of jail, compared to the system he was in last year.''

I know some people are anxious about him teaching the kids some bad habits, but I don't share that fear. The kids are too young to be primadonnas like Gary and most of them are too quiet to learn to yap like Gary. What's the worst they could pick up? Fiery competitiveness? Defensive intensity? I've said it before and I'll say it again: Gary's forgotten more about the point guard position and great defense than most of these kids are likely to learn in their lives. Learning from Gary is a good thing.

Also: another Globe story, and another Herald story.