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Utah Jazz Drama - The Downbeat #1587

By Dustin LaMarr
Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

It's been a difficult week in the NBA. With the loss of Hot Rod on Friday, and now the news that Craig Sager's leukemia has returned. Part of the deal with growing up as an NBA fan is that the people you loved, because they helped shape your experience as a young fan, get older with you.

Apparently there was some drama on Saturday? I've been out of town, on a mini vacation in the Bay Area, so checking in just occasionally on social media has been interesting. A lot of pissed of Jazz fans. No rehashing all the stuff that went down before and after the game against the Thunder, but I will say this -- having a "bad guy" sort of makes sports more fun. I'm not saying Enes Kanter is purposely playing the part of the antagonist (the "heel" is the term I've seen thrown around), but it makes for great entertainment. Remember when the Heat formed their team with their Big Three? (Ed. For those in a coma, that was LeBron James and Chris Bosh joining Dwyane Wade) Their were a lot of NBA fans (that didn't jump on that bandwagon) that were up in arms about this supposed affront to their idea of competitive balance. What happened? The NBA saw it's biggest leap in viewership/fandom ever. The game grew to new heights because people love them some drama.

"I don't really care," he told reporters after the game. "I like pressure. That didn't mean nothing to me. I really don't care if they boo me. Every time I touched the ball, they boo me. I like it better. I like the pressure."

Classic antagonist.

Only 9 games left in the regular season. The Jazz sit at 32-41, and would need to win out to hit .500. With Rodney Hood, Derrick Favors, and Gordon Hayward all in and out of the lineup, has your optimism plateaued? What's your new prediction for the win total, assuming one of those three will not play in every remaining game?

Every year with March Madness we also start stupid arbitrary brackets season. Here are a few dumb ones:

For The Win is a sports blog on USA Today. Why the hell do they care about Disney characters?

What is this? Candy Bracket? Half of that crap isn't even "candy." Absurd

Gordon Hayward has his own blog

The Player's Tribune is a thing (Steve Nash announced his retirement there)

Now Stephen Curry has written a post for The Cauldron

What do you think about player's writing their own content? Do you think it gives them the chance to speak from their perspective, or is it a clever way to control the message?

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