Curry: 'We do have a lot of work to do'

The Golden State Warriors were treated to a rude awakening in their season opener against the San Antonio Spurs.

The heavy title favorites stumbled out of the gate in a 129-100 shellacking Tuesday that left reigning two-time MVP Stephen Curry to make a humbling admission after the game.

"We do have a lot of work to do, there's no denying that," Curry told ESPN's Ethan Sherwood Strauss. "But I think we're still in a pretty good spot."

Head coach Steve Kerr, embarrassed by the blowout loss, tried to shoulder some of the blame.

"I didn't have them ready to play, obviously," Kerr said. "We came out of the blocks, we missed some easy shots, but I never worry about missed shots, it's more about loose balls and a second or third effort."

With the exception of Klay Thompson missing open jumpers, Golden State's stars played fairly well, but in every other aspect, the Warriors were clearly outdueled by a strictly drilled Spurs side.

San Antonio whopped the Warriors' patchwork bench by a lopsided 54-16 margin. The Spurs also pounded the glass for 21 offensive rebounds en route to 26 second-chance points.

That's where the game was decided and that's where the Warriors need to improve. Kerr expressed concerns about their interior defense following their offseason changes, and it showed as they were pummeled in the paint. Similarly, dropping key bench cogs meant the Warriors needed to reconstruct their second unit - one the Spurs dismantled.

Golden State has all season to fix these problems, of course. But for the time being, after all the offseason hype, the Warriors are below .500 for the first time since 2012, and they got there in rather spectacular fashion.