Los Angeles

The Jazz walked into their future by losing in their present on account of messing over their past.

First, the present, where the Jazz got beat late Monday night at the hands of their friends here in L.A. The final count: Lakers 107, Jazz 96.

The Jazz attempted to hang in this game, and they battled back from a late 22-point deficit to make it respectable. But, considering the predicament into which they had tumbled, there was no escape. Game 5 was a game they couldn't win, in a building where they couldn't win, in a circumstance, down 3-1, where all the walls leaned toward them, and all the odds leaned away.

They fought long, but fell short.

Kobe Bryant continued his dominance still oozing out of Game 4. Beforehand, he had predicted -- no, pronounced -- it would be like that, and he was right.

Bryant knew the only way the Lakers could lose was with a lack of interest and intensity. So at one early juncture, with him aggressively posting up Andrei Kirilenko, pitting his quickness and strength against Kirilenko's elbows and knees, he forced a foul call against AK. When Kirilenko extended a hand, Kobe totally blew him off.

That's the way it was going to be.

The Jazz attempted to stand up, this being their Alamo, or was it their Waterloo, or their Dunkirk? Whatever it was, they all died at the end.

So it goes when the eighth seed faces the one. A lot of people, those who hadn't paid much attention, thought the Jazz were much better than an eight, excepting their late-season skid that dropped them into the unenviable position of facing the Lakers.

Only thing was, there was no reasonable way to make exception for that swoon. It wasn't some aberration, some blip on a radar screen; it was the plain truth.

Turns out, the Jazz were fundamentally flawed in this series, and we'll never know if those flaws would have ruined them against the Nuggets, Blazers or Rockets, too.

They never addressed their defensive deficiencies this season, even after it had become obvious that the Jazz couldn't stop anybody, least of which the Lakers.

The Jazz got hurt from outside and in on Monday night, falling behind by 13 at the half, and trailing throughout. They just couldn't stop the Lakers enough, which was no revelation, considering they had also resembled an open road against lesser teams.

Counting on sheer determination was foolhardy. Defense doesn't bubble up just because a coach or a player says it should, not on a team that rarely displayed any such ability or inclination -- physically or mentally -- on a consistent basis.

Briefly back to the present: The Lakers had 56 points in the first half and 51 in the second. The Jazz scrambled to get back in it, but it wasn't to be.

As for the future, it is suddenly upon the Jazz, a significant stretch that cannot be bungled. Sitting tight and being cautious destroys the Jazz's credibility with fans who already suspect management is content with being decent -- they put up the good fight -- but not great, with selling tickets and letting it be. Actually, the Jazz might not have much of a choice this time, owing to the fact that so many Jazz players are either free agents or can opt out.

Kevin O'Connor and Jerry Sloan will be forced to do something .

Sloan defiantly stressed continuity in the postgame.

But Deron Williams said: "We've got to figure some things out."

Williams gets it.

The Jazz now have their chance to make a difference, keeping the guys who have an inkling of championship material within them -- Williams, who else? -- and moving a good number of the rest.

That much cried out Monday night, when the Jazz, in the present, walked away from their last loss, paying for their past, and staring straight ahead into an uncertain future.

GORDON MONSON hosts "The Monson and Graham Show" weekdays from 2-6 p.m. on 1280 AM The Zone. He can be reached at gmonson@sltrib.com .