SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors’ center, Kristaps Porzingis, is set to miss his fourth straight game this Saturday night against the Los Angeles Lakers, attributed by the team to a general illness.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr commented, “I’m unable to provide further details on this. It’s a medical matter far beyond my scope of explanation. He’s unwell and will not be playing. We’ll continue to observe his condition.”
This development follows Kerr’s statement on Bay Area radio just yesterday, where he claimed Porzingis was not, in fact, suffering from postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), contrasting Porzingis’s own public disclosures about his struggle with the condition over the past year.
Porzingis was acquired by the Warriors from Atlanta in a trade involving Jonathan Kuminga during the February deadline.
Kerr recounted, “Upon learning of the POTS diagnosis, I contacted Hawks [general manager] Onsi Saleh, a good friend. I inquired, ‘Is this POTS narrative accurate?’ He informed me it wasn’t actually POTS, suggesting it was inaccurate information circulating.”
However, Kerr retracted his previous hypothesis and assessment on Saturday when prompted for clarification.
Admitting his error, Kerr stated, “It was a foolish mistake on my part to discuss something beyond my qualifications. Attempting to delve into the diagnosis itself was an error. I must defer such matters to medical professionals.”
Porzingis initially experienced a prolonged illness during his last season with the Boston Celtics, a condition that Boston’s medical team later identified as POTS. This season, his illness partly restricted him to only 17 games while playing for Atlanta.
Having played in just one of his initial eight games for the Warriors, Porzingis’s availability for Monday’s matchup against the Clippers remains uncertain, according to Kerr.