Turns out, the Jazz are much worse than what we thought they were. We thought they were exactly what they were last season, a marginal playoff qualifier that won 48 games. It was a conclusion easy to draw, considering the roster was almost identical, no moves having been made to upgrade the Jazz from baloney to pastrami, even.

A bill of bad lunch meats had been sold around here that better health to the Jazz's best players would be the difference maker.

Anybody in the buying mood now?

As it is, the biggest difference personnel-wise from last season is the loss of Matt Harpring. A decade of giving up his body had finally exacted too much.

But his absence also took away the one tough guy on the Jazz , the only player of significance who would gladly pop an opponent in the grille, or use a forearm shiver for a good purpose.

Name one Jazz player who is willing to do that now.

Go ahead, we'll wait ...

Just one ...

Still waiting ...

Waiting ...

There's nobody.

I can name you at least one, though, who giggles on the bench while his team is getting its brains kicked in by a legitimate title contender.

Meanwhile, the Jazz are 3-5 and nose-diving, still to face the Cavs and the Spurs on the road in the days ahead. They'll be fortunate to get past Philly on Friday night. They appear lost, confused, and weak.

Deron Williams implied that they are selfish and called them one of the worst things anyone can call a team in the machismo world of the NBA: "Soft."

At least Williams showed some guts, playing on a bad back in Boston because ... he wanted to play. That's a plus, a step in the right direction for a team that needs to toughen up.

The Jazz are downright timid, especially on defense, and everybody in the league knows it. They foul a lot, but not with any bad intention, rather simply because they don't cover the post and they give up a bunch of open threes.

There were times when the Celtics rocketed to the basket while the Jazz lollygagged at every turn to stop them, times when the Celtics shot over them while the Jazz lollygagged to interfere. You know what that makes them?

Of course you do: Lollygaggers.

How about an occasional hard foul? A message foul? How about causing an opponent to hesitate before making a move because the price is too high to pay?

"We've got to find a line of playing physical on defense without picking up fouls," said Carlos Boozer.

Funny -- or is it? -- that the Jazz's ineffective defense is now compromising their once-proficient offense, too. No longer can they just outscore the other guys.

In games against the Kings and Knicks, the Jazz built double-digit leads, and, then, when those teams made runs, the Jazz panicked, launching quick shots, exacerbating their troubles. Against the Celtics, they took, as Boozer put it, "a lot of dumb shots."

This isn't all on the players, though. Coaching is also an issue. If the Jazz have the same players, and those players aren't performing at their accustomed level, what's changed? What needs to change? If progress has stalled, why has it stalled? Can anybody even ask those questions around here?

Motivation? Strategy? Those doing or not doing the motivating? Those scripting or not scripting sound strategy?

Or, is it simply the roster that has to change?

Either way, change has not been a Jazz strong suit of late.

Williams called for it late Wednesday night. Something, anything.

Does anybody really believe the return of C.J. Miles and Kyle Korver is the answer, that it will help them bust the zone and bust out of their defensive funk?

The Jazz are fundamentally flawed, same as it ever was. They can't clog the middle, they struggle to stop the league's better teams, they struggle to stop the league's worst teams. Who's left to struggle to stop?

Maybe they can adjust their attitudes and rediscover what it was that made them a good team in the past. Maybe they can get tougher. Maybe they can find a way to make a trade.

Or, maybe they can sell their cold cuts, collect their checks, and laugh it off.

GORDON MONSON hosts the "Monson and Graham Show" weekdays from 2-6 p.m. on 1280 AM The Zone. He can be reached at gmonson@sltrib.com