The Golden State Warriors were without Steve Kerr in Game 3 of the first round series against the Portland Trail Blazers, with assistant coach Mike Brown stepping in to fill in his place.
They were also without Kevin Durant, who was out with a left calf strain, but still managed to beat the Blazers 119-113 thanks to the efforts of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.
Now they will be without both for Game 4 in Portland, without Kerr possibly out for the rest of the season.
The GS coach has been dealing with a painful back, suffering symptoms from a surgery he has a few years back. The discomfort (due to a spinal fluid leak that causes migraines and nausea) returned in Game 2 and will probably carry over into the remainder of the series, as he consults with doctors for the best treatment. He hopes to be back out there as soon as possible, but will not be coaching one night and not the next. He told media he wouldn’t do that to the team, as hopes to make a decision on this within the next few days.
Even though he won’t be on the sidelines, he will still be around behind-the-scenes, watching tapes with staff and communicating with the players. He just won’t be on the bench making decisions.
The Warriors will cruise through the Trail Blazers, but once shit starts getting real through the Conference Finals and NBA Finals (if and when they make it that far), they’ll need Coach Kerr on the sidelines healthy to have a better of chance of dethroning LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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