This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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

OK, so this has blown straight past ridiculous, hurtling now toward preposterous. I mean, somebody's playing a joke, right? Here, here, pull my finger … oh, no, no, don't because … well, it's broken. Somebody's pulling my leg … and there went a hammy, a knee, an ankle, a toe.

The Jazz can laugh or cry, or just try hard to get on by.

That last one is exactly what they did against the NBA's best team at Vivint Smart Home Arena on Thursday night. They put up a plucky attempt against the Golden State Warriors. It was a game that would have been a true measuring device by which they could gauge their bruised progress this season.

Would have been.

Instead, the Jazz were left with a big ol' good job, good effort in a 106-99 loss, given circumstances that couldn't have been much more dire. You may have heard — Gordon Hayward was out; George Hill, out; Rodney Hood, out; Derrick Favors, out; Alec Burks, out. Four of the Jazz's five starters were out.

"For our guys to come together and compete, that's a compliment to those guys," Quin Snyder said, afterward. "… You're going to get as close as you can, [Golden State] is that good."

And what were the Jazz? Gone with the Bend.

More than a quarter of the way through the season, the Jazz, even with the positive signs they've shown, have not been, have never been, themselves, their whole selves. Their pre-game injury report always has put a drag on their reality, full as it forever seems to be of significant names.

Thursday night, though, took the cake. It took the hors d'oeuvres, the main course, the entire meal, took darn near everything and everyone with it, including any doubt about the outcome. But those burning remains left some hope at least about the Jazz's guts.

This thing was all Utah — for about a minute. Next thing, the Warriors went on a 29-1 run and from there, the Jazz scrambled for respect. They should be past that but … what in the name of Carlos Boozer were they supposed to do … beat Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green with Jeff Withey, Joe Ingles, Shelvin Mack?

Come on. Come freaking on.

The exhausted expression, "Next man up," around here has become, "Next platoon up." I mean, are there any men left? Hey, Bill and Tom, in Section 2, Row 5, Seats 8 and 9, come on down and suit on up.

Muttering about the Jazz's bad fortune does no good, of course. Still, dwelling on the unusual string of injuries is nobody's excuse. It's an explanation. And … no, the Fates have not found it within their sorry selves to smile upon the Jazz at any time to this point. The question has become: Will they ever? Or will they simply go on snarling?

A quirky little trend last season has tried to straight eat the Jazz alive this go-round.

When Snyder himself missed a recent game in L.A. because of sickness, a first for him as a coach, you really had to wonder: Who up there, out there is ticked off and why? Just because Stockton and Malone never missed games two generations back doesn't mean the basketball gods have to exact their toll now.

Does it?

It was funny, in a chuckle-or-die kind of way, during the Phoenix game when Hood re-injured his hamstring and Hayward re-injured his finger. Those were problems that were supposed to have been healed up. Hood's been sidelined since, and Hayward went into the locker room for a quick X-ray, and, as it turned out, pain was his only obstacle, so there was that beam of sunshine.

A beam that turned to iron against the Warriors, when Hayward didn't go.

And, so, in a game many had looked forward to, the emerging-yet-depleted Jazz facing the most talked about team in the world, a team that scores a thousand points a game, a team as difficult to stop as the wind itself, man, the Jazz jayvee squad did their trying.

Down those four starters, who together average 70 points, going with a mish-mashed lineup that consisted of Rudy Gobert, Boris Diaw, Joe Johnson, Mack and Dante Exum, the Jazz saw the varsity up close. They flinched and then fought back and then capitulated. What you think is going to happen? In this corner, you have … the Haloed and in that corner, you have … the Hurt.

So, yeah, the Jazz lost. They shot 42 percent to the visitors' 49. Gobert had 20 points, 17 boards, Ingles had 21 points, Mack 19. None of it was enough, even as Golden State fiddle-faddled around. But the Jazz weren't themselves. We'll let you know how they compare to the best team on the planet, and to everybody else, when — and if — they ever are.

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