Kevin Durant's left calf strain, which kept him out of Games 2 and 3 in the first round, had been the eye-catching note on the Warriors' injury report.
MORE: Blake Griffin to miss remainder of 2017 Playoffs
Now, however, it appears that the bigger concern is the status of Golden State head coach Steve Kerr. The reigning NBA Coach of the Year was a late scratch from sideline duties before Saturday night's Game 3 tip-off due to illness.
Further light on Kerr's struggles was shed after the game by Mercury News reporter Marcus Thompson, who wrote that Kerr was in "excrutiating pain" and "could barely walk."
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. 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 become unbearable. It is unknown if these issues are even related to his past well-known health problems.
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.”
The former NBA point guard and third-year head coach dealt with similar issues last season, missing 43 regular season games before returning to guide the Warriors to a league-record 73 wins and a second straight NBA Finals appearance.
After winning on Sunday AEDT, Golden State leads its first-round series against Portland 3-0.
