2017 NBA Finals: Steve Kerr not ready to coach Warriors
The Golden State Warriors will enter the 2017 NBA Finals without head coach Steve Kerr on the bench. Kerr, who lead the team to a championship in 2015, won't coach the team during Thursday's Game 1 but hasn't ruled out the possibility of returning for the remainder of the best-of-seven series.
"As of right now, I will not coach Thursday night. It's still up in the air," Kerr said after Golden State's practice session on Monday. "I'm not well enough to coach games, and I know that (because) I coached all 82 games and I did OK. I was uncomfortable and in a lot of pain, but I did fine. I could make it through. The first two games of the Portland series, whatever happened, things got worse."
Kerr hasn't coached the Warriors since Games 2 and 3 of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs. He took an indefinite league of absence to find a solution for migraines stemming from back surgery nearly two years ago. Kerr missed the first half of the 2015-16 season due to a spinal fluid leak. Earlier this month, he visited a specialist at Duke University to find a cure for persistent pain, migraines and nausea.
Steve Kerr: 'I am not ready to coach yet'
"I'm ready, but I'm not ready to coach yet. I'm still feeling a lot of the effects of what I've got going on," added Kerr, who won the Coach of the Year award last year for leading the Warriors to a record 73 regular-season victories.
In his absence, associate head coach Mike Brown has stepped up and done a commendable job. Kerr reckons Brown, who previously coached Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2007 NBA Finals, has handled the "awkward situation" remarkably, leading Golden State to a 12-0 postseason record.
"I'm taking part in practices, helping with the messaging, taking part in coaching meetings, but I'm not on the sidelines during games. So he has to make those (in-game) decisions. It's his team, but he's also taking my advice and counsel from behind the scenes. It's not easy, but he's obviously doing a good job. There seems to be a theme when I'm out. I think the team is like 108-2. So I'm not sure what it is," said Kerr while praising Brown, via ESPN.
Odds makers have tipped the Golden State Warriors as the overwhelming favourites in the upcoming 2017 NBA Finals. Cavs, the reigning champions, made history during the 2016 NBA Finals by rallying back from a 3-1 deficit to capture a franchise-first title. The 2017 NBA Finals gets underway on July 1. The Warriors and Cavs are 1-1 wins apiece entering the trilogy of NBA championship rounds.
