Kerr dealing with life on the other side
Golden State coach Steve Kerr played for a 72-win team and coached a 73-win team. So he seemed a little out of sorts walking into the United Center on Friday carrying a league-worst 4-19 record.
"One of the memories I have (of his Bulls days) is playing for Phil Jackson and the Zen of Phil, the philosophy of Phil," Kerr said before the game. "One of his favorite sayings was, 'Basketball's a metaphor for life and life is a metaphor for basketball.' There's a lot of wisdom in that.
"What you put in on the floor is important in terms of your effort and your unselfishness and your willingness to raise the level of your teammates. And all of those things are rewarded beautifully at times. Then life throws a tomato at you sometimes. All of us, right? It's been a tough season."
The Warriors are without Steph Curry (broken hand) and Klay Thompson (ACL surgery) long-term and have had so many other injuries, there have been games when no players who were on last year's team were available to play. The Bulls saw D'Angelo Russell on Friday after he missed the game in San Francisco on Nov. 27.
Kerr recalls famous sandwich:
Steve Kerr was a little more subdued than usual Friday, leading a team with just four wins on the season. But he did have a joke ready when someone mentioned Bulls radio analyst Bill Wennington.
During the 1996-98 championship run, Kerr and Wennington were nicknamed the "media moths," because they would often save the day on the numerous occasions when every other player on the team refused to talk after practice.
The exchange began by Kerr acknowledging that a lot of fans he meets in Chicago want to ask about Michael Jordan.
"Once in a while somebody asks about Bill, usually in context to the 'Beef Wennington' sandwich that McDonald's had for about two weeks," Kerr said with a straight face. "Then for whatever reason, they stopped selling it, and don't know why."
Porter in walking boot:
Otto Porter was back in a walking boot on Friday and his injured left foot will be revaluated in two weeks. The official injury report said the latest MRI revealed continued bone edema, which occurs when fluid builds up in the bone marrow. Porter will be examined by foot specialist Dr. Bob Anderson in Green Bay, Wis., soon.
What all that means is Porter will be out two more weeks, probably longer. He missed his 14th game Friday.
"They felt that the boot was necessary at this point," coach Jim Boylen said. "That's about all I can give you at this point. He did not re-sprain it or re-hurt it."
Child care needed:
Referee Lauren Holtkamp-Sterling made history Friday at the United Center by becoming the first mother to work an NBA game. It was also Holtkamp's first game since suffering a knee injury on the final day of the 2017-18 season.
She took maternity leave while the knee injury was healing, giving birth to daughter Sloan earlier this year. Her husband, Jonathan Sterling, is also an NBA referee and worked the Clippers-Bucks game in Milwaukee on Friday.