The 29-23 Jazz, however, are not at all tempted to think so far ahead.

"We can't speculate (on) who we're going to play in the playoffs," Deron Williams said, "until we get in the playoffs."

"We're not worried about that. We're not worried about who we play," power forward Paul Millsap added. "You know, when we're at full strength we can beat anybody in this league, so that's our main focus right now -- is to get healthy and make the playoffs. Just get there."

Whether they can or not, however, is an open-ended question in at least one person's mind.

Coach Jerry Sloan, in fact, questions if the desire to get there really even exists.

"I can't worry about who we're gonna play (in the postseason)," said Sloan, who prior to practice Tuesday morning was still steaming over a 20-point loss in Oakland on Sunday night that snapped Utah's modest three-game win streak.

"I look at us, and see us play Golden State," he added, "and I don't even know if we want to play in the playoffs."

The seething Sloan did not stop there.

His hard-hitting comments began, in fact, with him wondering if his injury-hampered club -- still without both Carlos Boozer (arthroscopic knee surgery) and Andrei Kirilenko (foot surgery) -- is only able to get up for marquee games like last Thursday's TNT-televised victory over Dallas.

Or -- even though it's not nationally televised, or even available on TV to everyone in the local market -- games like tonight's against a Lakers team that took the NBA's best record at 41-9 and a six-game win streak into its late-starting home game against Oklahoma City on Tuesday night.

"This thing of playing L.A., you've got to get your energy up? Well, what about playing Golden State?" he asked. "I think you have the same responsibility.

"If we're not playing on television, maybe we don't play as hard. Play on television, we seem to play a lot harder. That's confusing," the Jazz coach added. "So you're trying to figure what's the important part of this thing. To be seen? Or try to win? The bottom line, I've always thought, is to try to win."

The rant ended with Sloan being asked if he thought his team -- which he dubbed to be "kind of a mystery" -- really is collectively committed to his bottom line.

His answer seemed to be less than reassuring.

"I don't know," he said. "I think you'll have to ask them if they care about it -- how dedicated they are winning."

Do that, and Williams -- for one -- defends his teammates.

"I think so," he said when point-blank asked if the Jazz really do care. "I hope so. I do."

And with that Williams looked forward to playing not only the Lakers tonight but also the 29 games that remain after this week's break.

It's a stretch that opens with a four-game homestand, beginning with next Tuesday night's game against Memphis and continuing with visits from Boston, New Orleans and Atlanta.

"Hopefully we get some guys back soon," he said, "and get some confidence."

Williams wasn't alone in clinging to the hope that the eventual return of both Boozer and Kirilenko will give the Jazz a much-needed boost.

"We're capable of a lot of things, making a lot of noise in this league right now," said Millsap, the Jazz's primary replacement starter in Boozer's place at power forward. "To have everybody back after the All-Star break, it will help us out.

"When we're healthy, we are one of the best teams in this league. I believe it," he added. "But first we've got to get healthy, and first we've got to make it to the playoffs to even talk about it." E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com Jazz on the air

Lakers (42-9) at Jazz (29-23)

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