PORTLAND — After scoring the Warriors’ last nine points, including a dagger 3-pointer, Stephen Curry walked off the court with the ball tucked under his arm. He had a game-high 34 points as the Warriors won 119-113, taking a 3-0 lead in the first-round, best-of-seven series against Portland. But the ball wasn’t for him. It was for Steve Kerr.
“We’ve got his back,” Curry said.
The Warriors biggest worry is not the injury to Kevin Durant. He is all but ready to take the court again, even though the Warriors held him out of Game 3. It’s Kerr’s health that is now the biggest concern.
His sudden and mysterious absence from the Warriors bench, which came to light at shootaround on Saturday morning, didn’t come with much explanation. Vague descriptions like “illness” and “not feeling well,” are usually a sign something is wrong. In this case, according to sources, it is.
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 on. 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 became unbearable. It is unknown if these issues are even related to his past well-known health problems.
Klay Thompson (11) of the Golden State Warriors shoots the ball over Al Farouq Aminu (8) of the Portland Trail Blazers during Game 3 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Moda Center on April 22, 2017 in Portland, Oregon. (Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
Stephen Curry (30) of the Golden State Warriors shoots the ball over Noah Vonleh (21) of the Portland Trail Blazers during Game 3 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Moda Center on April 22, 2017 in Portland, Oregon. (Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
Stephen Curry (30) and JaVale McGee (1) of the Golden State Warriors defend Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers during Game Three of the Western Conference Quarterfinals of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Moda Center on April 22, 2017 in Portland, Oregon. (Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
The Portland Trail Blazers' Noah Vonleh (21) dunks against Golden State Warriors' Patrick McCaw (0) and Andre Iguodala (9) in the first quarter of Game 3 of their NBA first round playoff series at Moda Center in Portland, Ore., on Saturday, April 22, 2017. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
The Golden State Warriors' Ian Clark (21) makes a shot against the Portland Trail Blazers in the second quarter of Game 3 of their NBA first round playoff series at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, on Saturday, April 22, 2017. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
The Golden State Warriors' Klay Thompson (11) makes a shot against the Portland Trail Blazers' CJ McCollum (3) in the second quarter of Game 3 of their NBA first round playoff series at Moda Center in Portland, Ore., on Saturday, April 22, 2017. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
The Golden State Warriors' Klay Thompson (11) makes a shot against the Portland Trail Blazers' Maurice Harkless (4) in the second quarter of Game 3 of their NBA first round playoff series at Moda Center in Portland, Ore., on Saturday, April 22, 2017. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
The Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry (30) drives to the hoop against the Portland Trail Blazers in the second quarter of Game 3 of their NBA first round playoff series at Moda Center in Portland, Ore., on Saturday, April 22, 2017. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
The Golden State Warriors' David West (3) gets entangled with the Portland Trail Blazers' Evan Turner (1) after West lost the ball in the second quarter of Game 3 of their NBA first round playoff series at Moda Center in Portland, Ore., on Saturday, April 22, 2017. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
The Golden State Warriors' David West (3) fights for the ball against the Portland Trail Blazers' Evan Turner (1) in the second quarter of Game 3 of their NBA first round playoff series at Moda Center in Portland, Ore., on Saturday, April 22, 2017. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
The Golden State Warriors' David West (3) fights for the ball against the Portland Trail Blazers' Evan Turner (1) in the second quarter of Game 3 of their NBA first round playoff series at Moda Center in Portland, Ore., on Saturday, April 22, 2017. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
The Golden State Warriors' JaVale McGee (1) dunks against the Portland Trail Blazers in the first quarter of Game 3 of their NBA first round playoff series at Moda Center in Portland, Ore., on Saturday, April 22, 2017. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Golden State Warriors center JaVale McGee, right, dunks over Portland Trail Blazers forward Noah Vonleh during the first half of Game 3 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Saturday, April 22, 2017, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer)
Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum reacts after making a three-point basket against the Golden State Warriors during the first half of Game 3 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Saturday, April 22, 2017, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer)
Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry (30) signs autographs to fans after warmups before they take on the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 3 of their NBA first round playoff series at Moda Center in Portland, Ore., on Saturday, April 22, 2017. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry (30) walks back to the locker room after warmups before they take on the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 3 of their NBA first round playoff series at Moda Center in Portland, Ore., on Saturday, April 22, 2017. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Rip City souvenir t-shirts for fans cover the seats before the Portland Trail Blazers host the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of their NBA first round playoff series at Moda Center in Portland, Ore., on Saturday, April 22, 2017. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry (30) warms up before they take on the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 3 of their NBA first round playoff series at Moda Center in Portland, Ore., on Saturday, April 22, 2017. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry (30) warms up before they take on the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 3 of their NBA first round playoff series at Moda Center in Portland, Ore., on Saturday, April 22, 2017. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry (30) signs autographs to fans after warmups before they take on the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 3 of their NBA first round playoff series at Moda Center in Portland, Ore., on Saturday, April 22, 2017. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry (30) warms up as Kevin Durant (35) looks on from the bench before they take on the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 3 of their NBA first round playoff series at Moda Center in Portland, Ore., on Saturday, April 22, 2017. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Rip City souvenir t-shirts for fans cover the seats as a security guard looks on before the Portland Trail Blazers host the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of their NBA first round playoff series at Moda Center in Portland, Ore., on Saturday, April 22, 2017. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
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.
“Oh no,” one source said about Kerr returning this series. “He thinks like a player does, wanting to get back. But he’s got to get right.”
Moving forward, the health of Kerr is the one to watch. Not Durant. Not guard Shaun Livingston or forward Matt Barnes, whose second straight missed game leaves the Warriors’ bench shorthanded.
The Warriors are loaded so they can survive in the early rounds without Kerr. They have the talent, the schemes and the rotations set. So lead assistant Mike Brown can hold the fort.
“He was the MVP,” Draymond Green said of Brown after the Warriors’ comeback win.
But over this long championship pursuit, pushing buttons will matter. Fighting against the adversities will matter. Motivating individual players, managing the roller coaster of emotions, will matter. And that is Kerr’s specialty, his responsibility.
His absence would be a big deal in the later rounds. Even though the Warriors have veterans with championship experience, removing his presence at this juncture is a significant change.
But Kerr’s health is a sensitive subject for the Warriors. They are acutely aware of how devastating his surgery-gone-wrong has been for his life and how admirably he’s fought through it.
Kerr missed the first 43 games of the 2015-16 season due to complications from back surgery. A spinal fluid leak left him with debilitating headaches and nausea, among other ailments. Even when he returned, he wasn’t 100 percent. His suffering was just manageable.
That’s why Brown is here. The Warriors selected a top assistant with head coaching experience, instead of another bright offensive mind such as Stephen Silas, presumably because of the potential for Kerr to miss time again.
Brown has not only coached a team to the NBA Finals, but he has experience with elite talent — having coached LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. But Brown, unlike Walton, didn’t get a training camp to establish his presence. He didn’t get regular season games to build critical rapport as head of the roster.
That was because Kerr survived the regular season. He missed one shootaround but was on the bench for all 82 games. And that’s why him missing a playoff game is a sign of how badly he is hurting.
Kerr had progressed enough to gameplan with Brown before tip-off Saturday. Knowing Kerr, he could get to a point where he can just tough it out. Then he will downplay it so as to divert the attention.
But will the Warriors want him to do that, knowing the truth about how much he is suffering? Will general manager Bob Myers be okay with his close friend coaching through the agony? Or will Myers, who is known for his humanistic perspective, care more about making sure Kerr gets healthy?
This situation surrounding Kerr feels a lot like Stephen Curry’s injury last year. The Warriors didn’t know how badly he was hurt, didn’t know when he would be back, didn’t know how he would look when he returned. The entire playoffs were clouded with the uncertainty surrounding Curry and his sprained right knee.
This year, suddenly, the questions surround Kerr. Like Curry, you know he’d give anything to be out there. So Kerr’s absence means the Warriors have bigger concerns than Durant.
