Steve Kerr is 'suffering,' leaving his return to the bench in question

There aren’t a lot of clear answers as to what kept head coach Steve Kerr from joining the Golden State Warriors on the sideline in Portland on Saturday night. What is certain is Kerr reportedly was in considerable pain.

Kerr made the trip to Portland, but did not join the team for practice at the Moda Center on Saturday morning. Still, the Warriors seemed optimistic that if he stayed home in the morning, he would feel well enough to coach that night.

He didn’t.

And when a reporter asked if there was any more specific diagnosis than “illness,” Warriors assistant coach Mike Brown, who took the reins in Kerr’s absence during Golden State’s 119-113 comeback win over the Blazers in Game 3 of their first-round series, said, “No, just an illness.”

Kerr hasn’t fell well all series and “recently it became unbearable,” according to Mercury News beat columnist Marcus Thompson. “He is suffering,” CSN Bay Area’s Monte Poole reported, and “the pain is so intense that Kerr even had difficulty keeping up with the game” from his hotel. It is unknown if the pain is directly related to the back surgery complications that kept Kerr sidelined for the first 43 games of the 2015-16 regular season.

After Monday’s game, Stephen Curry held onto the game ball to give it to Kerr.

Steph Curry honored Steve Kerr with the game ball in his postgame interview pic.twitter.com/NvMacW9quC

— KNBR (@KNBR) April 23, 2017

“He’s obviously going through a lot physically,” Curry said at the podium after the game. “And that’s first and foremost for him to take care of himself, make sure he’s on the road to recovery and feeling like himself.”

There is no word yet on whether or not Kerr will be able to rejoin the Warriors for Game 4 on Monday night, but as of Saturday night the Warriors did not sound optimistic.