Posted on 05/29/2017 7:42:59 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Though he insists he has made no final decision about returning to coach the Warriors in the NBA Finals, Steve Kerr conceded Monday that he likely would remain in the background throughout the series that begins Thursday.
"As of right now, I would not coach," he said after practice.
"I'm all right; I'm not well enough to coach a game. And I know that from ... I coached all 82 games, and I felt 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."
Though Kerr has been a constant presence over the past two weeks, this was the first time he presided over practice. Acting coach Mike Brown was ill Monday and did not come to the facility.
"I'd like to tell you that I'm ready, but I'm not ready to coach yet," Kerr said. "I'm still feeling a lot of the effects of what I've got going on.
"I told the team the good news is the team is really healthy, the bad news is the coaching staff is dropping like flies. Hopefully, Mike will be back (Tuesday)."
Kerr last coached a game on April 19, Game 2 of the first-round Western Conference playoff series against the Trail Blazers. He flew with the team to Portland for Games 3 and 4 but did not coach either game. It was on April 23, between Games 3 and 4, that Kerr announced he was taking a leave of absence to pursue remedies for chronic pain in the wake of multiple back surgeries.
The Warriors have gone 10-0 under Brown, who is in frequent communication with Kerr ever since May 10, when the team began preparations for the conference finals.
"I've been in every meeting since the San Antonio series started," Kerr said. "Every film session, every practice. I address the team quite a bit; I think my messaging is important."
Though Kerr said he plans to accompany the team to Cleveland next week for Games 3 and 4 of the Finals, he continues to weigh his options regarding returning to the bench. \ "Once we get to Game 1," he said, "it might be a good time to make a decision one way or the other."
God bless Mr. Kerr
Cavs in 7. Very tough hard fought ....Durant is the goat of the series.
“....Durant is the goat of the series.”
He can handle it - he has the experience. That’s what got him to GS in the first place...
Durant blew it last year when they had GS down 3-1. ALL the pressure is on him and the Warriors, none on LBJ or the Cavs. Kerr is out and Brown will be outcoached in the clutch. Green will implode again at some point. Warriors do not have a set line up, Cavs do. Warriors still do not know how or where to play everyone.
The problem is that his spinal cord is leaking spinal fluid. It is playing havoc with the pressure on the brain.
Best wishes to him, but his politics are way left.
My son had back surgery 20 years ago———and all went well.
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Kerr seems like a nice guy, but he’s the luckiest coach in the history of any sport. He inherited a team that had been built to win championships by the previous coach. That coach was the only coach in Warriors history to improve their record three years in a row, but was fired, because the owners and front office are bigots.
And yet they just completed the 7th winningest season in NBA history with "no set lineup", and enter the finals at 12-0 in the playoffs, which is unprecedented in NBA history. I'm thinking that this factoid isn't quite as definitive as you want it to be.
No competition in the playoffs. They will be exposed in the Finals.
Look at it this way: GS lost last year without Durant, if they lose now everyone will be saying: “They’re a great regular season team but can’t close it out in the playoffs”.
Why did they need to go get Durant?
All the pressure is on GS.
Do you actually follow the NBA, because in reality the West is the strong division, and the Cavs faced little competition.
I follow it well. GS has not faced competition like the Cavs.
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