Jazz Poetry - The Downbeat #1743

On Tuesday, Trevor Booker did what numerous NBA players have surely wanted to do when he took a slap to Roy Hibbert.

Here some choice reactions:

when your best dude starts beefing at the cookout and he's in the wrong but you still support him pic.twitter.com/lMKHDU7gmA

— ☕netw3rk (@netw3rk) October 7, 2015

hahaha roy's face hahaha who's this Booker guy never mind it doesn't matter he's now my all-time favorite player https://t.co/uEHfXFTaTZ

— Shea Serrano (@SheaSerrano) October 7, 2015

Tibor Pleiss had the best recap of the two games in Hawaii (via Aaron Falk, SL Trib)

"Everybody's saying the preseason is not so much defense," he said. "But it was so intense. Everybody was hustling. Everybody was hacking each other. People were fighting. It was unbelievable."

Sad about tomorrow night's game against the Suns not being televised?

@utahjazz My son asked if we could watch tomorrow's game. I had to say no. It broke his heart and crushed his soul. I hope he recovers.

— Jon Midget (@YuccaManHoops) October 8, 2015

Fret not! The SUNS have you covered.....

The Suns' first 3 preseason games will be live-streamed on http://t.co/mm3ywcxqjv & the mobile app w/@JonBloom & @cjacobsen23 on the call.

— Paul Coro (@paulcoro) October 6, 2015

Want to hear some intentionally ignorant slander of the Jazz?

Here is Daily Thunder (ESPN TruHoop affiliate) talking absolute nonsense about the Jazz. Start at the 25:00 mark

Down to Dunk: Northwest Division Preview

They also give a lesson in how to defend the horrible decisions of your team's front office, i.e. the Kanter contract. The truth is that Thunder fans are going to be insufferable this year. Small Market + Top 3 NBA Player pending free agency = draaaaaaamaaaaaaa

Andrew Bailey of Basketball Breakdown (and 36 other hoops sites, as per the norm these days) posted a great defense of his assertion that Rudy Gobert will win DPoY this year.

Here is a great comparison of defense between Rudy and Enes Kanter, which is sure to stick in the craw of Thunder fans across the internet:

Prior to the aforementioned Kanter trade the Jazz had the 27th-ranked defense in the league, giving up 106.1 points per 100 possessions.

Opposing teams constantly forced Kanter and Trey Burke to defend pick-and-rolls, an exercise in futility for that combo. Burke wasn’t strong enough to get through screens, or quick enough to get around them. That forced Kanter to show on the screens—something he often didn’t even bother to try. In those cases, the opposition got a wide-open jumper. When he did show, he lacked the awareness and athleticism to rotate back to his man in time to deter him inside.

The contrast between Kanter and the way Gobert handled the pick-and-roll was stark.

One of the best things to see last season was the dedication to and success Rudy and Favors had to guarding out on the perimeter.

In honor of National Poetry Day, a poem for our Thunder friends:

Gone are the days of pictures with Playboy bunnies

Today just a backup that's paid too much money

The defensive effort, now a thing of the past

How long do you think KD's patience will last?

It's doubtful Ibaka can carry the load

When one half of the backcourt leaves a giant hole

Steven Adams won't help, but at least he will try

There's no defensive scheme, where Kanter can hide

When KD leaves, it will be for the best

He'll help the other conference compete with the West.