Who's panicking around here now?

Just because the Jazz have lost four straight games against teams that couldn't break .500 in the Spanish League, and are channeling Memphis at a time when they should be emulating San Antonio as a means of ramping up for their first playoff appearance in four seasons doesn't warrant panic.

It calls for absolute hysteria.

Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh. The sky is falling, the sky is falling! We're all gonna die!

The worst thing that could have happened to the Jazz, short of Mehmet Okur punching Jerry Sloan in the face, or Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams blowing out their ACLs, has, in fact, occurred this past week.

The Jazz lost their focus and their will. And, on account of that, a whole lot more.

Their way. They lost their way.

Have you witnessed the carnage? Or have you simply remembered the good times in November, choosing now to turn away?

Giving up leads of 17 and 22 points on back-to-back nights, on the road and at home, treating the ball in the clutch as though it were a leather-encased stink bomb, and playing defense in a way only the Washington Generals could appreciate, have the Jazz in a death spin.

They've dropped those four straight games to Western Conference teams with a combined record, as of Tuesday morning, of 131-178. They allowed those teams to shoot a combined field-goal percentage of 52.2, while the Jazz shot just 45.8. Over that same span, those opponents made 50 percent of their three-point attempts, dusting 37 of 74.

"We're not playing our best basketball by any stretch," said Matt Harpring.

Ya think?

Suddenly, all that best basketball played by the Jazz - accomplished back at season's start and over a couple of other hot runs - seems a vague memory.

All along, Jerry Sloan has wanted to use the regular season to tutor a promising young team, to prepare it for the postseason by making the most of the here and now, to have impressionable players dial in on not just every game, but every possession, to teach them to adjust to situations that required it.

And on the brink of the regular season's end, the Jazz can't beat Portland? . . . Or Sacramento? . . . Or Seattle? . . . Or Golden State?

Defense has always been a severe question for the Jazz, especially out on the perimeter, from where some of the league's great shooters made them look hapless and silly and slow. Sloan frequently took the blame for that predicament, in part because of his preferred defensive philosophy of loading defensive help around the basket, sometimes at the expense of getting smoked from outside.

But against the Warriors on Monday night, the Jazz gave up 64 points in the paint. They looked like they were sleepwalking through some kind of lazy transition drill, as though they packed it in before the goods had even been wrapped.

This is sound preparation for the playoffs in what way exactly?

The Jazz have suffered some injuries, a major concern expressed by certain players as they projected ahead after clinching the Northwest Division title a few games back. "To play at our highest level," said Derek Fisher, "we have to get healthy."

Andrei Kirilenko is out for a period that could extend into the playoffs. He says his thumb feels like it has little needles in it. Gordan Giricek is banged up. Williams has his groin problem, a nagging injury that, if not properly attended, with a bit of bad luck, could bother him beyond this week.

In the face of that, it might have helped the Jazz to have played guys such as Ronnie Brewer more in the early going, back when the winning came easier and the pressure wasn't as great and panic was nowhere in sight, all preparing for what will come next.

What comes next is a five-game slate to conclude the regular season, featuring four playoff teams. The Jazz finish with Denver, Dallas, Phoenix, Portland, and Houston. There are negatives and positives along that path.

If the Jazz continue their skid, they likely will lose their battle with Houston for home-court advantage in their coming first-round playoff series. If they continue their skid, it might not matter, anyway.

On the other hand, if the Jazz pull out of their downward spiral against teams of that caliber, if the team leaders man up and play solid ball, if the Jazz play playoff basketball now against those tough teams, they could right the wrongs that have recently vexed them, and gain the confidence and momentum necessary to plow into the postseason with bad intentions, a hopeful feeling and an unambiguous trend.

Hysteria would subside, panic would be left on the roadside, and the sky would stay where it is.

Maybe the Jazz will find their way.

And nobody will die.

gmonson@sltrib.com