This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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

What the Jazz have endured this season seems disproportionate, unfortunate, unfair, inopportune and straight ridiculous.

Dante Exum blows out a knee. Gone for the year.

Rudy Gobert tweaks a knee. Gone for six weeks.

Alec Burks breaks a fibula. Gone for however long it takes a leg bone to heal.

Derrick Favors' back has spasms. Gone for … fill in the blank.

And in the same game Gobert makes his limited-minutes return, Rodney Hood sprains an ankle.

If the Jazz were a Biblical character, they'd be Job. The Utah Jobs. Suffering is what they do, adversity is what they face, getting by with what they've got is what they know, the burden of being shorthanded is what they carry.

Nobody's saying they're cursed, but if worms and locusts and frogs and lice and boils and cruel oppression and thirst and hunger come upon them, then … it'll be a slam-dunk.

Although they still are on track to make the playoffs, their record has taken a hit. Golden State guard Klay Thompson said the other day the Warriors would be undefeated if they had been completely healthy. If the Jazz had done likewise, they'd be in the middle of the West's playoff pack.

"This is a real obstacle," said general manager Dennis Lindsey. "It's been our turn."

A turn for the worse.

Imagine, if you still can, Exum feeding the ball to Gordon Hayward, Hayward passing to Favors, Favors hitting Burks, Burks lobbing to Gobert, Gobert flushing the finish. Is there enough elasticity in the stretch of anybody's imagination to even see that anymore? Or to picture in the mind's eye, at the other end, Exum extending his long arms on the perimeter, frustrating an opposing point guard, as Favors drapes himself all over a forward in the low post and Gobert discourages whatever's left, patrolling the paint, blocking shots or discouraging them from even being attempted, and initiating the break after a defensive rebound? All of that happening in concert?

It's been so long.

Thing is, it will come again, in an improved, advanced form, Lindsey said. In the cold, dark, long nights of January, beam that up on the big screen in your brain: "We'll be better for it. I'm not trying to just put on a happy face. I truly believe we'll be better for it."

The plan is still in view, still valid, the GM said. Just a bit delayed, or detoured.

"It's like being up on a cliff and you see the path down to the water and the oasis," he said, "but the ground that you're standing on is either quicksand or sediment."

The lifeline of healing remains in hand.

The second-youngest team in the league has time, yet, to come together after all of this is absorbed, learned from, and conquered. The great NBA writer Ralph Waldo Emerson once penned that — and I paraphrase — teams acquire the strength they overcome. Former power forward Oprah Winfrey said: "Turn your wounds into wisdom." And as extraordinarily successful team owner Walt Disney once put it: "You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you."

The Jazz have been kicked. The puddle in their path has been an ocean.

But they're learning to ignore the pain and to swim, or, at least, stay afloat.

"We're taking body shots and right hooks, but our group is still together," Lindsey said. "We're still out there fighting."

Said Hayward: "It's definitely [tough] mentally. But if we can learn and get better from these situations … in the long term, we'll be a better team."

There hasn't been much quit in the Jazz, with the remaining regular rotational guys working hard — and players like Jeff Withey, Trey Lyles, Raul Neto and Trey Burke getting minutes they ordinarily would not get, bumping and skidding at times and having their eyes opened at others.

When the top guys return, which won't fully happen until next season, this team will have more depth than it would have had otherwise. What has been lost in frontline development and cohesiveness has been gained in the back. It's not always easy to watch, but it is … something.

A few other notions that have become clearer through the din of adversity are 1) how badly Gobert and Favors want to play, 2) how the second-tier guys will fit in with the starters, once the team is back together and 3) what the front office's next targeted moves, with its financial flexibility and numerous draft picks in hand, should be in the offseason.

Regarding Gobert and Favors, with whom Lindsey has watched games when they were unable to go, Lindsey said they are itching to play, especially Gobert: "We've had to hold him back every step of the way. You can feel it. You not only miss Rudy's and Derrick's physical attributes, you miss their edge. The big fella's competitive and he provides a certain level of defensive backbone and edginess where he wants to do well. He has plans for him and us."

That last part is significant. Gobert, the Jazz's most important player, has ambitious plans — for him and his team.

"He's very motivated," Lindsey said.

As for Nos. 2 and 3, Lindsey said: "There are some things I'm going to have to take a look at in the offseason. But our group is emotionally intact. We're certainly getting clarity. … We are learning quite a bit about our roster, about what complements Gordon, Derrick, Rudy and Alec. I still believe the majority of our solutions are internal. They have to do with internal development."

Without elaboration, he added: "It's a very interesting time for us and we're starting to get clarity about what we need going forward."

What the Jazz need is a bit of health and good fortune. They need a smile from the fates.

"That's the good news in all of this," Lindsey said. "We're very confident that Dante will come back. Alec's procedure went perfectly. Rudy is back. Our hopes are that Derrick will be back shortly. I'm going to stay short of a prediction, but he'll be back and we'll be fundamentally in the right spot in the rebuild. … We're going to get these guys back and start moving in the right direction."

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.