Will Steve Kerr Coach The Golden State Warriors In The 2017 NBA Finals Against The Cleveland Cavs?

Will Steve Kerr coach in the 2017 NBA Finals? That’s the biggest question surrounding the Golden State Warriors as they prepare to face LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers for a third consecutive year.

The third-year head coach hasn’t been on Golden State’s bench since Game 2 of the first round against the Portland Trail Blazers. Kerr has been dealing with symptoms stemming from a spinal fluid leak because of back surgery, and the odds seem to be against him coaching in Game 1.

READ: NBA Finals 2017 Prediction

“As of right now, I will not coach Thursday night,” Kerr said, via ESPN’s Chris Haynes, after practice Monday. “It's still up in the air.”

Kerr spoke to the media because Mike Brown missed practice with food poisoning. Brown has taken over as the team’s head coach since Game 3.

“I'm ready, but I'm not ready to coach yet,” Kerr said. “I'm still feeling a lot of the effects of what I've got going on.”

Kerr won’t keep the team waiting for his return throughout the entirety of the series. If he can’t go in Game 1, he’ll make a decision for the rest of the NBA Finals in the coming days.

"I'm not well enough to coach games, and I know that [because] I coached all 82 games and I did OK," Kerr explained. "I was uncomfortable and in a lot of pain, but I did fine. I could make it through. The first two games of the Portland series, whatever happened, things got worse. You saw me in the fourth quarter of Game 2. I could not sit still in my chair. It was that much pain. I would say that I've gotten a little bit better. That's why I'm here talking to you now. But you can probably tell I'm not sitting here happy-go-lucky."

As important as Kerr might be on the bench, the Warriors haven’t missed a beat without him. They’ve gone 10-0 in Kerr’s absence, sweeping the Utah Jazz and San Antonio Spurs. One of those victories came without Kevin Durant, and Golden State won by double-digits in eight of the other nine contests.

Even dating back to last year, the Warriors have been dominant without Kerr. When the head coach was first dealing with his symptoms and former assistant coach Luke Walton took his place, Golden State set a record by starting the season with 24 straight wins. The Warriors went 39-4 in Kerr’s absence in the 2015-2016 regular season and 34-5 when he was on the bench.

Kerr coached every one of Golden State’s playoff games in 2016.

“I'm taking part in practices, helping with the messaging, taking part in coaching meetings, but I'm not on the sidelines during games. So he has to make those [in-game] decisions,” Kerr said. “It's his team, but he's also taking my advice and counsel from behind the scenes. It's not easy, but he's obviously doing a good job. There seems to be a theme when I'm out. I think the team is like 108-2. So I'm not sure what it is.

No coach in NBA history has been more successful in their first three years than Kerr. He was named the 2016 NBA Coach of the Year, and he’s averaged 69 wins per season since being hired in 2014.