There are two games left in the regular season -- Nos. 81 and 82 -- with the promise of a first-round playoff series after that, but if the Jazz could have pushed the reset button after Saturday's loss to Golden State, they probably would have.

The Jazz's April swoon reached new proportions with a 118-108 embarrassment at the hands of the Warriors, who had only seven available players yet shot 62.5 percent in the first half and led by 18 early in the fourth quarter.

"It's not like we've got to learn how to play," Kyle Korver said. "We all know how to play. We've just got to work our system, play together and play hard and we'll be right there. To me, that's all we've got to do."

With so few games remaining, the Jazz have little time for a turnaround, although as the team's P.R. department noted, the Jazz dropped six of their final nine games in 2007 before making their run to the Western Conference finals.

That said, the Jazz entered those playoffs as a No. 5 seed, not a No. 8. Since 1984, No. 8 seeds have gone 3-47 in first-round series (48-158 overall record), with only Golden State in 2007, New York in 1999 and Denver in 1994 delivering upsets.

"It's tough the way things are going right now for us, but we're all a little bit older now, hopefully we can deal with it, talk about some things," Deron Williams said. "We've got two big games coming up, try to turn things around."

The Jazz will finish the season by hosting the Los Angeles Clippers -- 1-33 all-time at EnergySolutions Arena -- tonight then visiting the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday in an increasingly probable first-round playoff preview.

If they hoped to avoid the top-seeded Lakers, the Jazz did themselves no favors with Saturday's loss, then got no help Sunday as New Orleans beat Dallas 102-92. The Hornets now lead the Jazz by two games while the Mavericks are a game ahead of Utah.

Even if they win their final two games, the Jazz still would finish eighth if New Orleans splits its final two games -- at Houston, at San Antonio -- and Dallas wins its final two games at home against Minnesota and Houston.

"We're not in a good position right now, but it's not the end of the world," Williams said. "We are still in the playoffs and things can happen."

The Jazz have lost six of their last seven games, with their immediate priority being finding answers for what has become a defensive meltdown. Their last seven games, the Jazz have given up 125, 114, 103, 94, 130, 105 and 118 points.

That average -- 112.7 points -- has come with opposing teams shooting 53.6 percent. The Jazz have given up more than their share of layups off the pick-and-roll and open three-pointers, while not helping their cause at the other end.

Jazz coach Jerry Sloan criticized his players for settling for jumpers against the Warriors, leading to fast-break baskets. The Jazz also have failed to stretch possessions, while Sloan described the Jazz's defense as looking like "everybody for himself."

"I understand the people who are on this team, I understand who we are," Sloan said. "If I didn't know who we were, then I'd maybe go jump off a building. But we're not as good defensively as we should be. That's my responsibility. It all comes back to me."

Sloan called it his job to find some way to get his team to play defense and get more out of his players. He largely dismissed the idea of lineup changes -- beyond finding more minutes for Matt Harpring -- but said something had to change.

"I don't like to change, never have liked to change," Sloan said. "I like for guys to be in a comfort area, but we're not getting everybody to compete hard. That's difficult to win with any team I've ever had. If we don't get everybody to play hard, it's pretty tough to win.

"It's just a little tough sometimes to accept that. If I didn't care, it wouldn't be a big deal. But it eats your guts out when it's all said and done. Just as much as it did when I first started coaching."

Notes » The Jazz's hopes of a third consecutive 50-win season ended with Saturday's loss, dropping them to 47-33. ... Sloan dismissed the suggestion that the Jazz are running out of gas after fighting through so many injuries earlier this season. "How many of them are 35 years old?" Sloan asked. The answer is none: Brevin Knight is the Jazz's oldest player at 33.

rsiler@sltrib.com