Steve Kerr Plans To Attend Game 1
1:07pm: Brown says Kerr will watch today’s game from the locker room, posts Ramona Shelburne on ESPN Now.
11:24am: Warriors coach Steve Kerr will be at today’s opener of the Western Conference finals, tweets Monte Poole of CSNBayArea. Poole says multiple sources have told him of Kerr’s intentions, but he doesn’t specify whether Kerr will be on the bench or just a spectator.
On Saturday, Kerr made his first appearance at practice since he had to leave the team for health reasons in the middle of the first round. He also attended a coaches’ meeting on Friday, but didn’t speak to the media on either occasion.
Kerr is trying to overcome the lingering effects of back surgery that he underwent nearly two years ago, including severe migraines. He had a spinal cord leak procedure nine days ago at Duke Medical Center.
Lead assistant Mike Brown has taken over in Kerr’s absence, guiding Golden State to six straight victories and its third consecutive appearance in the Western finals.
Steve Kerr Attends Warriors Practice
Steve Kerr felt well enough to join the Warriors for today’s practice, writes Chris Haynes of ESPN.com. It marked the first time that some players have seen their head coach in almost two weeks.
Kerr, who is still dealing with the effects of back surgery from 2015, hasn’t coached the team since Game 2 of its first-round series with Portland. He underwent a spinal cord leak procedure last week in an attempt to relieve severe headaches and other symptoms that have lingered since the operation.
“It’s obviously great any time you get to hear his voice, see his face,” Stephen Curry said. “He’s obviously been doing his homework in between. His downtime is to help us get prepared for the series and you know he misses being around the day-to-day routine, the atmosphere, practice and locker rooms and games and all that. So, for him to even just have the energy and ability to be here means a lot. Hopefully, he’s feeling better.”
Kerr helped to conduct today’s practice for the first time since leaving the team, but did not speak to the media afterward, tweets Tim Kawakami of The San Jose Mercury News. Kerr was able to attend a coaches’ meeting on Friday, according to Haynes.
Lead assistant Mike Brown continues to serve as head coach in Kerr’s absence and has a 6-0 record heading into the start of the Western Conference finals on Sunday. The team still isn’t sure if Kerr will be able to return to the bench before the end of the playoffs.
Kerr Undergoes Spinal Cord Leak Procedure
Warriors coach Steve Kerr had a spinal cord leak procedure on Friday, according to Anthony Slater of The Bay Area News Group.
Team owner Joe Lacob told Bloomberg Radio the procedure was performed at Duke Medical Center, and the prospects for Kerr’s return to the bench remain uncertain. Kerr has missed the past five games with lingering complications from his back surgery in 2015.
Lacob explained that the “dura around the spinal cord” was nicked during that operation, which led to severe headaches and other symptoms.
“Unfortunately usually they patch that with a blood patch and it’s over,” Lacob said. “Either in a week or month. Whatever. And in his case for whatever reason they just haven’t been able to solve that problem. Hopefully it was solved yesterday he had another procedure. It’s gone on for nearly two years. Very unusual I believe. I have a medical background so I know a little bit about this. I’ve never really heard of many people having this problem for this long.
“We feel really bad for him, the players, everybody understands it. We just have to be in his court here and support whatever it takes for him to get back and I’m sure they will eventually solve it. Hopefully sooner rather than later and hopefully we’ll have him coaching on the court sooner rather than later.”
Latest On Steve Kerr
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr remains out indefinitely, and is extremely unlikely to return to the team’s bench before the end of Golden State’s series against the Jazz, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. Mike Brown will continue to coach the Warriors in the interim.
According to Shelburne, Kerr is seeing a specialist at Duke University Medical Center on Friday and is receiving treatment aimed at alleviating the symptoms that have been ailing him as of late. Kerr, who underwent surgery on his back two years ago, continues to experience the effects of complications from that procedure, including severe headaches, nausea, and dizziness.
While the Warriors would love to see Kerr back on the sideline, the team’s players are moving forward with the expectation that Brown will be the head coach for the rest of the playoffs, as we heard earlier this week.
As Shelburne tweets, Kerr was adamant during his first leave of absence last season that he didn’t want to return to the Warriors until he was healed and ready to coach full-time. That’s even more important this time around, Shelburne notes.
Warriors Not Counting On Postseason Return For Kerr
Steve Kerr is battling complications stemming from back surgery and it has forced him to miss Golden State’s last two playoff games. Mike Brown took over duties in his place and the Warriors are preparing as if Brown will lead them for the rest of the postseason.
“We plan on Steve not to come back,” Draymond Green said (via Ron Kroichick of the San Francisco Gate. “That’s the way we’re approaching this thing. We’re not going to sit around and say, ‘Oh, man, if we can get to the conference finals Steve may be back!’ Nah. Mike Brown is our coach.”
Kerr remains involved in the team’s strategy, though it’s unclear exactly how much input he is giving. Brown, who has been friends with Kerr for nearly 17 years, is preparing to be the head coach for as long as Golden State has basketball left to play, but he’s doing so by communicating regularly with the 2015/16 Coach of the Year.
“My whole deal is I’m going to coach the team until Bob [Myers] and Steve tell me otherwise,” Brown said. “I’m not putting a timetable on it, just taking it one day at a time. The reality of it is, Steve and I talk a couple times a day.”
Warriors Notes: Fraser, Kerr, Barnes, Livingston
Having to get by without Steve Kerr for the first 43 games of last season has made the transition easier this year, assistant coach Bruce Fraser tells Tim Kawakami of The San Jose Mercury News. Ongoing complications from Kerr’s 2015 back surgery forced him to miss Games 3 and 4 of the Trail Blazers series and have put his availability in question for the next round and beyond. Former NBA coach Mike Brown has taken over the team on an interim basis and “has been really good with letting our culture stay intact,” Fraser said.
Fraser adds that helping Kerr get healthy is the organization’s primary concern. “I used to ask him a lot at the beginning how he was doing and I could tell after a while he just didn’t like that question,” Fraser said. “He hides it from everyone. I’m no different. But he also doesn’t want you to feel sorry for him. He doesn’t want it to be a crutch for himself or a hindrance to the team or us. He learned how to manage it pretty well. So he was really good with it all–some moments better than others. It just got worse. We just need to get him back.”
There’s more Warriors news this morning:
- Brown brings a different tone to Golden State’s huddles, but he is maintaining the same philosophies that Kerr employs, Kevin Durant says in the same piece. “They’re two different voices, two different personalities,” Durant said. “They work well with each other and they learn from each other I can tell. But we play a certain way and we’ve been playing that way the whole season. It’s not like coach Brown is coming in trying to change anything up. He’s coaching us within the flow of the game and whatever he sees he’s going to help us out.”
- The Warriors are hoping to have Matt Barnes and Shaun Livingston available when their second-round series starts Tuesday, relays the Associated Press. Barnes, who has been out since April 8th with a foot injury, has been upgraded to probable for Game 1. Livingston remains questionable with a sprained finger on his right hand that he suffered in the opener against Portland. Durant is expected to play without the minutes restriction that was imposed when he returned from a strained left calf for Game 4 against the Blazers.
- Center Zaza Pachulia talks the experience of being surrounded by mega-stars in the “Warriors Plus-Minus” podcast with Kawakami.
Steve Kerr’s Condition Continues to Worsen
The physical problems that caused Warriors coach Steve Kerr to miss the final two games of the first-round series have gotten worse over the past week, reports Anthony Slater of The San Jose Mercury News. Kerr’s indefinite absence from the team may stretch well into the second round or even beyond.
Kerr was at Stanford Medical Center today getting further tests and had to miss the first practice in preparation for the next round of playoffs. Interim coach Mike Brown was in charge and said he will plan to coach the rest of the postseason unless GM Bob Myers tells him differently.
Brown talked to Kerr Tuesday night about strategies for facing the Jazz or Clippers in the next round. Brown refused to comment on Kerr’s condition, referring all those questions to Myers.
Kerr is still dealing with the effects of surgery that he had in the summer of 2015 to repair a ruptured disk in his back. That created a fluid leak in his spine, and a follow-up operation was needed. Kerr missed the first 43 games of last season and still hasn’t returned to full health.
Myers addressed his coach’s condition after today’s practice in an interview on 95.7 The Game. He said the organization hasn’t set a timetable for a return, and he wants to see Kerr have several good days in a row before he comes back to the bench.
“For him to live the life that he wants to live, we need to figure it out,” Myers said. “I think we will.”
The Warriors won’t play again until Sunday, and maybe not until Tuesday if the Jazz-Clippers series goes to a seventh game. Brown plans to continue having strategy sessions with Kerr and will try to handle his absence as smoothly as possible.
“You hope it’s seamless,” Brown said. “I’ve been coaching a long time and even though Steve’s older than me — a lot older than me (laughs) — he’s been coaching for three years now and I’ve learned a ton from him. Not just X’s and O’s. Maybe [Gregg Popovich] rivals it, but he’s by far the best communicator I’ve been around. There’s no way I’ll be able to emulate that. Just being here a year, having the veterans we have, the staff we have, it’s made it, in my opinion, seamless.”
Steve Kerr May Miss The Rest Of First-Round Series
The Warriors are concerned about the health of head coach Steve Kerr, who may not be available for the remainder of their first-round series, writes Marcus Thompson II of The San Jose Mercury News.
Golden State won Saturday’s Game 3 without Kerr, who was held out with an illness that was only described in vague terms. A source tells Thompson that Kerr has been ailing since the series started. He has been suffering excruciating pain and at times can barely walk.Kerr’s health has been an issue since he underwent surgery in July of 2015 to fix a ruptured disk in his back. That operation created a fluid leak in his spine, and he needed a second procedure two months later.
He missed the first 43 games of last season before returning to his spot on the Warriors’ bench, but his health problems never fully went away. Thompson writes that the spinal fluid leak left him with “debilitating headaches and nausea,” along with other ailments.
The team hired Mike Brown as its lead assistant over the offseason because of his extensive experience as an NBA head coach. Thompson notes that the Warriors passed over younger candidates such as Stephen Silas because of fears that Kerr might not be able to coach the entire season.
Kerr was able to gameplan with Brown before Saturday’s game, but it remains uncertain when he might coach again. Kerr will undoubtedly want to return as soon as possible, but GM Bob Myers may insist that his friend get healthier first.
Steve Kerr To Miss Game 3
Steve Kerr will miss tonight’s game against the Blazers because of an illness, Marc J. Spears of ESPN.com relays (Twitter link). Mike Brown will act as the Warriors’ head coach in Kerr’s place.
Brown has plenty of heading coaching experience. He has two separate stints as the Cavs’ head coach with 71 games on the Lakers’ sideline sandwiched in between them. Brown has a head coaching record of 347-216.
Kerr missed 43 games last season while recovering from back surgery and at the time, Luke Walton took over the head coaching reigns, leading the team to a 39-4 record.
Golden State has a two-game lead in their series against the Blazers. The Warriors won the first two contests by a combined 41 points.
Kevin Durant On Track To Return On Saturday
APRIL 6, 12:59pm: Durant will play in Saturday’s game against New Orleans, barring any setbacks, the Warriors announced today (via Twitter).
APRIL 3, 4:18pm: The Warriors are targeting this Saturday’s contest with the Pelicans for Kevin Durant‘s return, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). It was previously reported that the team was optimistic about a return before the end of the regular season.
The 2013/14 MVP has begun to play in 3-on-3 and 4-on-4 contact situations, Stein adds in a full-length piece. Coach Steve Kerr said Durant will be in the starting lineup when he is ready to play.
“Hopefully we can get him in for a couple of regular-season games,” Kerr said on Sunday.“We’ll see how it goes. We’ll see what the training staff says. I’m not too worried about incorporating him because he’s been with us all season and fit right in from the beginning. So whenever he gets back, we’ll plug him back in there and watch his minutes.”
If Durant is able to return for Saturday’s game, that would give him the potential to play in three games before the postseason begins.