Warriors head coach Steve Kerr will not coach Game 3
The Golden State Warriors head to Portland for Game 3 up 2-0 in the series. However, they will be without head coach Steve Kerr for tonight’s contest due to an illness.
The Golden State Warriors public relations team just informed the masses on Twitter that head coach Steve Kerr will be a game-time scratch for tonight’s Game 3.
Kerr is battling an illness that will keep him off the sideline for tonight’s game. Instead, assistant coach Mike Brown will be taking over as the acting head coach for the game in Oregon against the Portland Trail Blazers.
UPDATE: Steve Kerr will not coach Game 3 at Portland tonight due to illness. Mike Brown will serve as acting head coach tonight.
— Warriors PR (@WarriorsPR) April 22, 2017
Kerr hasn’t missed time since last season, when he battled back issues for the early part of the year. During that stretch when he missed 43 games, the Warriors had the best record in the NBA at 39-4 under Luke Walton
Unfortunately, Walton is now the head coach for the Los Angeles Lakers and unable to assume the role once again. Brown will have defensive wizard Ron Adams and other assistant Jarron Collins to lean on heavily throughout the game
The Warriors are up 2-0 in the series, and dominated the Blazers in the last contest. But, they’ll be without forward Kevon Looney tonight, who is out with a left hip strain.
Kevin Durant, Matt Barnes and Shaun Livingston are all still questionable with various injuries and there has been no update on their respective statuses.
Game 3 on the road is usually the most difficult game for a team that’s up 2-0. The home crowd will be behind the Blazers, who might not have Jusuf Nurkic again.
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Without Kerr and possibly other players, it’ll be a tall order for Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green to try and go up 3-0 in this series.