This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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.

Like the thespian, stroking his beard and asking himself his age-old question, the San Antonio Spurs showed up against the Jazz on Tuesday night, wondering the same thing: What's my motivation?

Numerically, there wasn't much, not as it pertained to the standings.

The Spurs are pretty much locked in at second in the West. They won't catch the Warriors, they won't fall back to the Thunder. The last few games of the season are extraneous to a team whose crop has already been harvested, whose regular-season reward already is earned.

Which is to say, its situation is the opposite of the Jazz's.

Caught up in their first meaningful playoff race in five years, and having been hammered by the Spurs in their previous meetings, the Jazz had work to do against a most formidable opponent, the opponent that may present the biggest challenge, should the Jazz qualify for the playoffs in the seventh slot. Due to matchups, and veteran leadership, and just the all-fired way San Antonio plays, the young Jazz would learn at the feet of the master in the first round — and maybe get crushed as a part of that education.

But a chance to prove otherwise, to punch that master in the mouth, in addition to furthering their regular-season race, was not compromised when Gregg Popovich found plenty of motivation, somewhere, on Tuesday night. He played his guys. In a game that wasn't particularly attractive, both teams battled hard, almost as though it were a playoff game. And, in the end, the Spurs edged the Jazz, 88-86.

Still, despite the loss, and a temporary stall in the standings, the Jazz found usefulness in what happened here — namely, they sent a message to San Antonio that they have more game than what they had shown in earlier matchups. They could have won this thing, despite trailing by 16 points at the start of the fourth quarter.

That's when they came alive, hitting 14 of 16 shots in the quarter, and had the game tied at 86 in the closing seconds. After a tough Kawhi Leonard jumper, Rodney Hood fired a bomb that would have won it. It did not drop, game over.

"We really competed," Quin Snyder said, afterward. "It was back and forth at the end of the game, and we executed really well. … We need to keep getting better and win more of these games."

They're running out of games to win, with only four remaining.

But the Jazz are still in the thick of a race with Memphis, Portland, Dallas, Houston all rumbling for slots five through eight, and with the Jazz holding some tie-breaking advantages, there is a chance, albeit slim, that they could end up at No. 5 in the West. If that were to happen, they could do themselves a huge favor by ducking the Warriors, the Spurs, and OKC, leaving them with a shot at the Clippers.

In that case, their playoff curriculum load, while still difficult, would lighten substantially.

But, then, we're getting greedy, and far ahead of the game(s) here.

The Jazz still have to pass the minimum standard of making themselves eligible. It is rather remarkable at this late date that they could still finish ninth — and out of the postseason.

Motivation, then, was no problem for the Jazz on this occasion.

Execution, in the early going, was.

Part of their trouble with competing against San Antonio is the fact that the Jazz are trying to emulate what the Spurs do. In a general sense, they have a better chance at beating basketball's best team — Golden State — in any single game than they do the Spurs, because of their contrasting styles. In the Spurs, they see a team doing what they do, only doing it consistently better.

It's directly traceable to the talent and the experience edge favoring San Antonio. That's an obvious truth. The combination of Derrick Favors, Rodney Hood, Rudy Gobert, and Gordon Hayward may one day be better than the combo of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Kawhi Leonard, it's just that today isn't that day.

Still, if Tuesday night revealed anything, it might be coming.

True or not, the Jazz have to think that way.

Hood was, at times, the best player on the floor, leading all scorers with 23 points, making 10 of 19 shots, and collecting seven boards and four assists. He got 13 of those points in the fourth, when the Jazz outscored the Spurs, 33-21. Overall, they out-rebounded San Antonio, 40-32. Turnovers, though, are still an issue.

"We can do better," Snyder said. "We can play better."

If they do what they can, they'll make the playoffs, and maybe even get a game or two from whomever they face when playing better is absolutely required.

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.