OAKLAND – In the wake of their home loss to the ghost of the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night, the Warriors spent Friday afternoon at the movies.
They saw in graphic detail a horror show that ought to scare them back to reality, reminding them they are a respectable NBA squad but hardly elite and surely not ready to be a championship contender.
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"We have a long ways to go, and we were able to see it on tape,'' said second-year forward Harrison Barnes, who had one of his worst games as a pro.
"Its one thing to say it,'' coach Mark Jackson said. "But it's another thing to actually sit down and see what we need to do better – put it all on the table.''
When the Warriors got an extended glimpse of themselves, they saw sloppy defense, particularly in transition. They saw shockingly careless ball handling.
They saw in that 104-102 spanking a Warriors team that all too often looked as if it were a collection of strangers assembled 30 seconds before tipoff.
San Antonio's B team – without Tim Duncan, Tony Parker or Manu Ginobili – scored 35 points in the second quarter, including a 19-4 run over four minutes that turned a 34-20 Warriors lead into a 39-38 Spurs lead.
Overall, the Warriors on Thursday committed 24 turnovers, leading to 31 Spurs points.
Thus, the coaching staff decided Friday was a good day to exhibit the visual proof before taking the practice court.
"It was worse than I thought it was going to be,'' said Klay Thompson, who concedes he had a "terrible game,'' missing 12 of his 18 shots and committing five turnovers. "It was tough, hard to watch.''
That was the idea, fellas. As every athlete to ever step on a field or court knows, video does not lie. You might not like what you see, but there is no denying the camera always keeps it real.
