Clippers become latest to expose Jazz frailties

LOS ANGELES — The Jazz's losses were mounting. Everybody and their brother either has been, is or — the way things have been going — will be hurt. At 21-20 with three consecutive losses before facing the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night, things were about as bleak for Utah as they've been in quite some time.

Nothing like a little adversity, Jerry Sloan figured, to see what he really has on his hands.

"As long as things are going well a lot of times," the Jazz coach said, "you don't always find out exactly who people are."

Winning, he added, "can mask a situation pretty good sometimes."

By the time Friday was finished, though, and the Clippers were done beating them 93-82 at the Staples Center, the disguise the Jazz have been hiding behind had been shed.

In losing its season-worst fourth straight overall, and its sixth in a row on the road, Sloan's 21-21 team sure seemed to be exposed for what it really is: a young, rebuilding, injury-decimated franchise just limping along until time, trades, a big free-agent signee or two and a few more drafts help to heal all wounds, physical and otherwise.

One more weighty piece of evidence to the truth:

With leading scorer Andrei Kirilenko missing his third straight game due to a sprained right ankle — and Matt Harpring, Keon Clark, Curtis Borchardt and Ben Handlogten all out with long-term injuries — Utah did not have nearly what it needed to hang even with the 18-22 Clippers, a traditionally sub-par team it had beaten in 18 of their last 19 meetings.

The Clippers were up 45-43 at the break, and — thanks in large part to an 8-0 L.A. burst in the first two minutes of the third period, and Quentin Richardson's 27 points through three quarters — they never did trail throughout the second half.

Even after 10-point third quarter from starting point guard Carlos Arroyo — who played extra minutes (37 in all) because of backup Raul Lopez's struggles (scoreless on 0-of-3 shooting in 10 minutes) the Jazz were down by eight, 73-65, going into the fourth quarter.

"It got us in a hole a little bit," Sloan, who also bemoaned the Jazz's many missed layup opportunities, said of Utah's second-half start.

They never were able to crawl out, either, going down by as many as 15 early in the fourth and never coming closer than eight the rest of the way.