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If you trust the eye test, and many of us do, there's little question that the Utah Jazz aren't far away from being a playoff team.

A loss can tell you that, in this case a 106-103 defeat at the hands of the Golden State Warriors. Yes, Golden State won it's 19th consecutive game, which extends an NBA record to start a season, which led to a jubilant Draymond Green in the lockerroom following.

Yes, the Warriors were the team making the shots and the plays down the stretch. Or should we say Stephen Curry, who turned in a spectacular final eight minutes in front of a sellout Monday night crowd at Vivint Smart Home Arena.

But the Jazz showed so much. They almost matched Curry shot for shot. They got defensive stops down the stretch when teams haven't been able to do so against the Warriors. They look like they have true star power in Derrick Favors and Gordon Hayward. And after years of Jazz fans wondering if those two would develop into all-star type talents, the eye test says yes. And Golden State won by its closest margin of the season.

Still, losses are losses. And the numbers don't lie, which mean the Jazz still have a mountain of work to do, because 8-8 basketball teams always have a mountain of work to do.

"I think you have to be consistent," Utah coach Quin Snyder said. "When we lose, we talk about getting better. When we win, we talk about getting better. You may feel a little better after a win. You know a month from now, hopefully what we come away from this game is more significant than one win. Whether it means understanding how we have to play, understanding things about our team and knowing how to execute a game plan.

The Jazz on Monday night measured themselves against the best the league has to offer and should be able to take a bunch of positives away from a close defeat. But it means nothing if Utah can't take advantage of this next stretch of home games.

Playing well against Golden State is one thing. And it's quite easy to get up emotionally for the Warriors. But the Jazz are still attempting to find the level of consistency that allows them to win consistently. There are signs that Utah's aware of that level and close to finding it. Indeed, Monday was the third really good game the Jazz have played in three nights. They beat the Los Angeles Clippers on the road, they blew the New Orleans Pelicans out, and they narrowly lost to the Warriors.

Utah players and coaches say there are no moral victories. Still, this team may have just found itself on Monday night, even in defeat.

"It's close," Hayward said. "But close isn't good enough, but this is one we can learn from for sure."

Tony Jones