This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

As New Year's resolutions go, finding a little more sunshine, a bit more optimism in anything, in everything is a standard. Optimists supposedly live longer than pessimists and realists, so it's worth a reach. Applying it to the Jazz, though, is a tall, torn, broken, sprained, contorted order. The bright side right now is rather dim. It's Gone with the Bend.

And it's gotten ridiculous.

Smack dab in the middle of a developmental project, at a juncture when the young Jazz were, would be, on their way to a strong upward move, injuries have ripped them to pieces. Yeah, every team deals with guys getting hurt, but … not like this.

You saw the lineup the Jazz threw out on the court the other night, with four of their five best players unavailable. On their home floor, they darn near lost to Philly, a team that had won two games to that point all season. Guys who should be sitting at the end of the bench, at the ready for spot duty, were called on for major minutes. They did what they could, which, of course, is all anyone can do. Joe Ingles isn't going to suddenly turn himself into Klay Thompson. Trey Lyles won't be Kevin Durant.

If optimism requires complete stupidity, forget it.

Dante Exum, one of the most important players in the team's rebuild, blows out a knee in the offseason playing for Australia during an international friendly against Slovenia, or, was it Slovakia or Sierra Leone or Suriname? Whoever. Whatever. Like that, the 20-year-old point guard, the quarterback and defensive stopper out front, not only of the future, but also of the present, is lost for the season.

His growth, his presence on the floor, is essential for the Jazz to attain the heights for which they hope. Gordon Hayward and Rodney Hood can't score the points, run the team and initiate the offense, not consistently, not every time down the floor, not when the game is on the line and the attack needs to flow comfortable and smooth. They need to be set up by a guy who can deliver the ball where it should go at the right time in the right rhythm.

Exum won't dominate the ball, he'll never be John Stockton-like, but he is better than the options the Jazz are being forced to run with now. Raul Neto is a nice prospect, a decent defender, a guy who also can grow and contribute. But is he the force who will jet the Jazz toward a deep move through the playoffs? Even eternal optimists concede the answer to that.

Next, Rudy Gobert suffers a sprained knee that darn near sent Dennis Lindsey into a panic. "We were just grateful it wasn't as bad as it might have been," the general manager said. The Jazz's most important player was lost for a period that might extend to a couple of months, and they'd not like it, but take it, given the bleak alternatives.

Still, without Gobert, the Jazz are a different team, sometimes better on offense, but unrecognizable at the defensive end, allowing more points in the paint, more points around the basket. Without Gobert's long reach to erase mistakes and intimidate penetrators, the Jazz are susceptible to drives and dumps in the post that ordinarily wouldn't even be attempted by opponents. The confidence, the defensive assuredness that his presence brings is lacking now — and badly missed.

When Alec Burks broke his ankle/leg against the Clippers, and underwent surgery to hurry up the healing, the offensively limited Jazz not only lost their third-leading scorer and his 14.3 points, they started a stretch without a threat they are hard-pressed to replace. While he sometimes goes rogue, and messes up the team's ball movement, Burks is one of the only Jazz players who can effectively score without help.

But his athleticism — and the susceptibility it brings with it, exposing him to midair collisions and subsequent falls to the floor — is causing some to wonder whether he can stay healthy. First, there was the shoulder, and now the leg. When he's not available, the Jazz struggle to pick up easy, emotional baskets that boost the club beyond just the addition of a couple of points.

Derrick Favors, the Jazz's most improved player this season, with his 17 points and nine boards, growing his offensive repertoire while maintaining his defensive prowess, has been difficult to replace when he's been out, most recently with back spasms. Anybody who has ever experienced spasms in the back knows how painful that can be. It can change a man's personality, let alone hamper his game. Favors will return, but his absence has made everything the Jazz do more problematic.

The trouble with these injuries isn't just the interruption of individual growth, accompanied by a kind of paranoia, stirring questions about whether one injury will lead to two and three, there's also the collective concern. If the players aren't on the floor together, how can Quin Snyder develop them into and orchestrate them as the cohesive group he's trying to mold?

It's not easy. Snyder is hanging in, trying to be … you know what.

In the meantime, he's just throwing parts and pieces together, encouraging the guys he does have to make the best of it. Not sure that any of the substitutes is making a name or a case for himself in the absence of the frontline players. But Snyder is trying to establish a never-give-up mindset among his guys, a competitive attitude and assertion that may serve the greater group well once everybody's back.

Some say the players who are out are making progress in other ways — studying the game from courtside and in the film room and getting stronger in the weight room and more mature. That's what an optimist would think.

Optimists are also hoping that maybe the Jazz can stay afloat well enough to make a late run, much the way they did after the All-Star break last season, enough this time to qualify for the playoffs in what seems to be a diminished field in the West. Those grabbing that gear are truly holding onto their resolutions, resolutions that will help them survive the Jazz's preposterous run of misfortune, and help them live longer, too.

GORDON MONSON hosts "The Big Show" with Spence Checketts weekdays from 3-7 p.m. on 97.5 FM and 1280 AM The Zone. Twitter: @GordonMonson.