The obvious storylines heading in to Game 3 in Portland were the conspicuous absences of Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and All-Star forward Kevin Durant. Durant was confined to the sidelines with his most recent calf strain from Game 1. No big deal. But Kerr couldn’t make it to the arena due to an unknown illness and there seemed to be genuine concern from Warriors players and fans.
Per a @warriors team spokesman, Steve Kerr isn’t sure whether his current symptoms stem from the back surgery that has caused problems.
— Connor Letourneau (@Con_Chron) April 23, 2017
When Curry performed his postgame on-court interview with ESPN’s J.A. Adande, he was unceremoniously holding the game ball. Adande’s final question finally acknowledged the oddity and Steph took the opportunity to shout out his ill coach.
“Our coach is going through a lot right now physically. He told us this morning this is a situation where we need to rally and go out and win a game for him. But we felt like the way the game had gone on we had to fight and do it for him. And the way he said it was that we had to win one for the Gipper. So shout out Steve Kerr.”