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Oakland, Calif. • Maybe there weren't many to make as the Kevin Durant and Draymond Green huddled with their coach, up double-digits in the first half of a series most pundits expect them to win with ease, but the playoffs are all about adjustments.

And, right now, the Warriors are adjusting to life knowing their coach may not reclaim his chair this season.

Steve Kerr, the 2016 NBA Coach of the Year and the man who led the Warriors to their first title in 40 years, has been sidelined by back problems and has been unable to coach in the first five games of the playoffs. If Golden State ends up hoisting another trophy in June, it likely will be with interim coach Mike Brown at the helm.

"The way we look at it is plan on him not coming back," Green said. "That's the way we're approaching this thing. We're not saying, 'If we can get to the conference finals, Steve may be back. Or, 'If we can get to the Finals …'"

Kerr missed 43 games last season after complications from a surgery intended to fix his back problems left him dealing with intense pain due to a cerebrospinal fluid leak. Kerr's back problems have persisted and, once again, forced him to hand over his clipboard to one of his assistants.

"I'm going to coach the team until [general manager Bob Myers] and Steve tell me otherwise," Brown said. "In my mind, I'm not putting a timetable on it."

The Warriors are hoping for the best, but bracing for the possibility of being without their leader the rest of the postseason.

"We're going to hope and pray that Steve gets better and can be back," Green said. "But at the end of the day, his health is more important than anything. We're here in support of him. We know how bad he wants to be here and how bad we would love him to be here."

In the past, Kerr has occasionally felt good enough to watch games from the locker room at Oracle Arena, but that was not the case for Tuesday's semifinal tipoff with the Jazz.

"We're getting updates as to how he's feeling and what he's going through with his treatments and everything," point guard Stephen Curry said. "But the expectation is, until we hear otherwise, Coach Brown will continue to run the show with Coach Kerr being on speed dial every single minute so he can give his input."

Jazz coach Quin Snyder spent a season as an assistant under Brown with the Los Angeles Lakers. Even with the coaching change, Snyder said, the team's superstar lineup, already heavy on championship experience, would help steady things.

"I've known Mike forever," Snyder said. "He's a terrific coach. Obviously, Steve is the leader of their group. I'm sure you miss him on a lot of levels and that's no disrespect to Mike. But this is a team that has a very specific identity. They know who they are."

On Tuesday, Brown credited Kerr with establishing that identity.

"Steve has done a fantastic job of laying a great foundation, culturally and X's and O's, basketball-wise, and then we have a great staff … and the leaders on this team," Brown said. "Everyone has kind of pitched in to keep us headed in the right direction."

Twitter: @aaronfalk