So the Jazz's schedule is now in focus: Locker cleanout Tuesday, fabulous vacations and roster upheaval all summer, training camp in late September.

That's what a 108-94 loss in Game 4 of this playoff series will do for you.

OK, nobody was pretending the Jazz were going to win this series -- certainly not the folks who brought you quot;They're Toastquot; as a preview headline. But trailing by 24 points on your home court is unacceptable, wouldn't you say?

quot;We thought we'd put a better effort forth tonight,quot; Deron Williams acknowledged.

Here's the one thing I would love have to witnessed in this series: the Lakers' best vs. the Jazz's best. Didn't happen. The sad conclusion through four games is it took the Lakers' worst effort to lose once -- by two points.

Predictably enough, something resembling the top-selling material from Bryant and the Lakers surfaced Saturday, and the Jazz failed to respond.

There was a precious moment early in the second quarter when Carlos Boozer tossed in a hook shot for a 34-27 lead, and everybody began to imagine the possibilities. Maybe the Jazz had already absorbed Kobe's best stuff, the other Lakers would keep shrinking and the Jazz could even this series and keep playing for another week.

Uh, maybe not: Luke Walton for three. Sorry, people: Sasha Vujacic for three.

Thanks for playing: Shannon Brown for three.

quot;They did a good job of maintaining their composure,quot; Boozer said, and that was less true of the Jazz.

It became an 18-2 run, and the Jazz never led again. Another glimmer came in the last 3.9 seconds of the first half, when Deron Williams somehow scored five points to cut the lead to 60-53, but Bryant answered everything the Jazz's poorly executed offense and shell-shocked defender Ronnie Brewer could throw at him and the Lakers early in the third quarter.

quot;They took us out of our offense, and we got really anxious to try to do it,quot; said Jazz coach Jerry Sloan.

As for the other end of the floor, disregard some of what you will hear about Bryant taking a revolutionary approach in Game 4. He took the exact number of shots -- 24, matching his uniform number -- Saturday as he did Thursday. He just made 16 of them, as opposed to five.

quot;All of it was just Kobe taking over,quot; Williams said.

Not true. Bryant's 38-point night did kill the Jazz by itself. He got adequate help, and Boozer and Williams did not, and they were hardly perfect themselves. Forgive the repeated past-tense usage here, but this series came down to one unmistakable fact: The Jazz were at the mercy of the Lakers' shooters. Miss a bunch, and the underdogs would have a chance. Make half of them, and the Jazz would struggle to stay with them. So for the third time in four games, the Jazz fell behind by 20-plus points Saturday. The official team pose became the palms-up, where's-the-foul gesture -- or, more egregiously, the moment when Williams was complaining while dribbling and Brown stole the ball from him. It was bad stuff, and all that's left is 48 mandatory minutes Monday in L.A.

Yeah, that ought to be fun.

kkragthorpe@sltrib.com