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On Saturday, the Utah Jazz were soundly beaten by the Los Angeles Clippers, with frustration reaching a tipping point in the locker room, following what was an important loss.

On Sunday, the Jazz began to take stock of the remainder of their regular season.

The first order of business began with an assessment: Why have the Jazz lost four of their last five games? Why aren't they playing well offensively? Why has a defense that's been great all season slipped noticeably over that time? And why are the Jazz no longer making open shots?

"It could be a bunch of things, but I think we have to get back to getting better starts and we have to get back to playing better defensively," Utah point guard George Hill said. "We have to regather ourselves as a team and focus on the task at hand. We have to get back to playing the type of basketball we know that we're capable of."

With a little over two weeks remaining in the regular season, Utah's playoff positioning continues to be fluid. The Jazz, who clinched a playoff berth with Denver's loss Sunday, have been mostly in the fourth spot since the All-Star break. But that reality — and the home-floor advantage that comes with it — is tenuous at best.

The Clippers have an easier remaining schedule than the Jazz, and Saturday's win over Utah gives Los Angeles the tiebreaker, should the two teams finish with identical records.

But heading into Monday night's home matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans, the Jazz are frankly less worried about playoff positioning, and more worried about simply getting back to playing good basketball.

"Everyone wants to talk about the playoffs, but honestly we just have to get back to who we are," Utah shooting guard Rodney Hood said. "We have to get back to playing well regardless. If we can do that, we'll be fine."

There are a number of things ailing the Jazz. The team's rotation is still changing almost nightly 73 games into the season. A lot of this is because of injury, with power forward Derrick Favors' sore knee being the most prevalent.

Without Favors starting next to Rudy Gobert, and then playing center when Gobert is off the floor, Utah's defense noticeably slips whenever the French big man has to take a rest. Without Favors, Boris Diaw and Joe Johnson are taking on expanded roles, which the Jazz don't want to do because they want to monitor the minutes of both veterans. And Hood is still battling a sore knee that has limited him, even if he's played the last three games. With Hood at less than 100 percent, the Jazz have lacked that second dynamic perimeter scorer to take pressure off All-Star Gordon Hayward, and the stress of lacking multiple perimeter guys creating offense at a high level has bogged down the entire offense.

The Jazz have failed to reach 100 points in four of their last six games. Gobert has been their leading scorer in two consecutive games. And while Gobert has been great on both ends, the question of whether the Jazz can consistently win with the center being the main offensive threat is a fair one.

It's all like a snowball rolling downhill — and it's catching up to the Jazz.

"A lot of it is making open shots," Hood said. "I feel like we've been getting good shots that we've missed. Sometimes that's deflating when you miss the open ones."

Through it all, the Jazz say they simply have to get back to basics. That includes making open shots and playing better defensively. It includes starting games better and sustaining that energy throughout.

The Jazz have two winnable games to start the week, with the Pelicans at home and the Sacramento Kings on the road. They know they would be wise to take advantage, if for nothing else than attaining a boost mentally.

"We have to keep playing together and keep being there for each other," Gobert said.

tjones@sltrib.com Twitter: @tribjazz