Schooled by the Champs at home

On Veteran's day, the Golden State Warriors  learned a tough lesson in Oakland: They have a long way to go to match the defending NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs. For rookie coach Steve Kerr it was the pupil versus the teacher and veteran Coach Gregg Popovich prevailed with his brilliance. The Spurs beat the Dubs 113-100, silencing the home crowd as the league's oldest team took 23 more shots than the Warriors. Once again the Dubs were plagued by turnovers. They committed 20 compared to just 8 for the Spurs.
After the game, it was obvious the two men respect each other as they shook hands, laughed and smiled.

"Steve has done a great job instituting his system. The turnovers are killing them, " said Popovich. "When you turn the ball over that many times, you loose. But win or loose, I always smile and laugh when the game is over. Our friendship is a lot bigger than any game. Steve is a smart man."
While still frustrated with the turnovers, Kerr praised his team and his opponent.
"We didn't have any turnovers of insanity as I call them," explained Kerr. "I think our guys fought. We did some good things. We lost to a great team, but we are learning. Tonight it was mostly about us running up against a team that just hung a banner. They played their best game. We lost to a great team."
A team that has been together longer than any other in the NBA. Kerr pointed out that when he retired in 2003 Popovich, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili were playing together. They still are. "I wish they would just go away, but they're not," joked Kerr. "They are the perfect example of a team that's been together, been through every war and knows how to execute. We've only been together 6 weeks. We fought hard. We hung in there and are making strides to move forward."
 Perhaps it's that positive attitude that is fueling his young squad which is still missing a key player, All Star forward David Lee. While they just suffered their second loss in a row after starting the season 5-0, the Dubs are still shooting at 54%.
Klay Thompson who sprained his hand in Houston and sat out Saturday's game in Phoenix returned to the starting lineup and scored a game high 29 points. Another  bright spot was the rejuvenated play of Harrison Barnes who added 22 points. San Antonio held Stephen Curry to just 16 points and denied him any easy shots. The team's leading scored was 0 for 7 from 3-point range, ending his streak of 75 straight games with at least one three pointer.
As Kerr pointed out they will use this game to learn and continue to improve. And if they do that, anything is possible. Next up, the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday at Oracle Arena.