Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr was absent Saturday night for the Warriors' 119-113 comeback victory in Portland. The team simply said he "wasn't feeling well." That naturally set off alarm bells for anyone paying attention, after Kerr missed half of last season with complications from back surgery.
Now the San Jose Mercury News has more details on Kerr's condition, and they are extremely worrisome. To the point, Kerr is not expected back by the end of this first round:
At the worst of this current illness, Kerr was in excruciating pain, according to the sources, and he could barely walk. It was scary because it wasn't a feeling he's had before.
The worst part, the Warriors don't yet know what is going. They had to say "illness" because there are no answers yet.
Kerr hasn't felt well all series, according to people around him, and recently it become unbearable. It is unknown if these issues are even related to his past well-known health problems.
As competitive as Kerr is, we know this: it must be pretty bad if he is missing a playoff game. He is expected to miss the remainder of this Western Conference series.
via Steve Kerr, not Kevin Durant, is Warriors' biggest health concern.
Stephen Curry dedicated the victory to Kerr and said he planned to give him the game ball. It's clear the Warriors were emotional about their coach's condition, and given that description, it's understandable.
It's too early to be able to give perspective on what this means on the court. Without knowing his diagnosis or prognosis, Kerr could be back on the sideline next week, or be out the rest of the playoffs. His absence hurts the Warriors; even though Kerr often suppresses the wild, unrestrained side of the team that fuels their insane runs, he also knows how to settle the team, and get them through rough spots. He has made consistent adjustments in series to help them get past series deficits, and it's important to remember how flawed and beatable this team was before Kerr arrived in 2014.
Kerr's absence will be tough on the team, however long it takes, but they also have the formula, leadership, continuity, and support staff to weather the storm until Kerr can return. The Mercury News did report that on Saturday he was able to gameplan with assistant Mike Brown, who took over the team for Game 3. But the details in that report have to be concerning for the Warriors as well, as they try and figure out how best to help their coach get to where he need to physically.
