Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has been battling back issues for quite some time now. He sat out half of the 2015-2016 NBA season after undergoing back surgery in the offseason, as Luke Walton took over the team while he was out. Unfortunately, the back pain hasn’t gone away for Coach Kerr. In Game 3 Saturday night against the Portland Trail Blazers, he was unable to coach the team, and Mike Brown took over as acting head coach. It looks like the Warriors are going to be without their coach for an extended period of time.

Coach Kerr’s back issues may cause a long-term ripple

Coach Kerr has already been ruled out for Game 4 on Monday, and he is likely to miss the remainder of the playoffs if the condition does not improve, according to Chris Haynes of ESPN. The news is very unfortunate for the Warriors, who are desperately seeking to avenge last year’s Finals loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Although the team has a perfect system in place, it will still not be the same without Coach Kerr. Mike Brown is capable of being a long-term coach, but losing Kerr could considerably hurt the team in the long run.

Kerr comments on back pain and Mike Brown

“It’s the discomfort,” coach Kerr told reporters. “As I said, the symptoms, for whatever reason, took a turn for the worse maybe five games ago, and I was able to manage the pain and discomfort over the last year and a half. Suddenly things got a lot worse."

“No matter what happens I’m going to be involved.

If I’m not coaching, I’ll still be watching tape with the staff, which I did this morning. I’ll still be talking to players behind the scenes. So I could still help, but coaching in the game is a different deal,” Kerr added about his abilities.

“I can tell you if you’re listening out there, stay away from back surgery…rehab, rehab, rehab.

Don’t let anyone get in there,” Kerr continued about his condition. “Mike is fantastic. Did a great job last night…Mike and I are thinking along the same lines,” Kerr said about Coach Brown.

What the Warriors will do without Kerr

The Warriors' system works so fluidly that they should be able to get past a couple of rounds but when the pressure rises, they are going to need their coach. Mike Brown has enough experience, but it remains to be seen if he can coach them to a title if Steve Kerr is indeed going to miss the rest of the playoffs.

It’s a tough loss for Golden State, but they have plenty of talent and excellent team chemistry. They just need their players to remain healthy, as Kevin Durant, Shaun Livingston, and Matt Barnes are still nursing injuries.
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