Patrick Kinahan: Reeling Jazz reduced to playing for pride

SALT LAKE CITY — Essentially with the season on the line, the current version of the Utah Jazz responded with one of the most embarrassing performances in franchise history.

No one can argue the Jazz took miserable to a low level in the 25-point loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Monday, falling behind 3-2 in the best-of-seven playoff series. It was brutal in every sense of the word.

"There's not a lot of things that you point to tonight that we did well," said coach Quin Snyder.

Even if it is barely, the Jazz still have a glimmer of hope to win the series against the Mavericks, who own homecourt advantage if a seventh game is necessary. But advancing in the postseason should not even enter the team's collective mindset going into Game 6 on Thursday.

Of course, winning is the ultimate objective in every playoff game; but this time it's about competing with a sense of pride, something that was noticeably absent in Game 5, even though Snyder would disagree.

To put it mildly, the Jazz rolled over in the game that almost always determines the winner when a series is tied at 2-2. The Mavericks toyed with the Jazz in every sense of the word, laughing all the way in the process.

About the only fight the Jazz showed came when Hassan Whiteside committed a hard foul on Luka Doncic on a shot attempt with a little over five minutes remaining in the game — about time we saw some resistance.

The time is now to make amends, to at least salvage respect. Even if Game 7 goes against them, the Jazz must put forth a strong effort in what likely will be the last home game of the season.

No excuses either. It doesn't even matter if the Jazz are without Donovan Mitchell, who left the game late in the fourth quarter with an apparent hamstring injury.

"We'll see how I feel, but I'm a competitor," Mitchell said after the game.

Remember, Dallas won two games without Doncic, the All-Star guard who suffered a strained calf in the final game of the regular season. Tim Hardaway Jr., the team's highest-paid player, also has been sidelined for months.

"In a few days, we're going to see what the Jazz are made of," Jazz television analyst Thurl Bailey accurately stated in the closing seconds of the Game 5 loss.

Not that it should have even arrived at this point, where we're only looking for the Jazz to show a semblance of fight. One year removed from posting the NBA's best regular-season record, this team was expected to compete for the championship.

Instead, unless the Jazz stage an incredible comeback, this will go down as a disappointing season. The critics, of which there were countless, have loudly doubted the team the last few months.

"The Utah Jazz always find a few to not live up to expectations," said ESPN broadcaster Stephen A. Smith on First Take. "This is what they've done."

The sad part is Smith went off several days before the Jazz scored only 77 points in Game 5, their lowest postseason output in about 20 years. His commentary was primarily based on Jalen Brunson going off for a career-high 41 points in the Game 2 win.

"They make me sick," Smith shouted. "Donovan Mitchell is somebody I want to see deep into the playoffs because I believe he's that kind of player. But he ain't innocent in all of this. He's stained, too. But they just make me sick. I can't stand the Utah Jazz. I'm not talking their fans; I'm not talking about the city; I'm not talking about ownership. I'm talking about this team."

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