Here’s some free advice: if you receive an automated email from “Twitter” stating that someone in Canada has suspiciously logged into your account and you need to change your password, don’t click the link they provided. If you do, you’ll end up like me – with a hacked account that may never come back after the infiltrators changed my credentials.
Unfortunately, the bad hackers who prey on volunteer geezers like me, the guy who struggles with any more advanced technology than a sundial, can’t keep me offline. And more importantly, they can’t stop me from tweeting, even if I’m not on twitter.
I’ve had more free time in the last five days that I’ve been banned from my Twitter account. Life is more peaceful away from internet toxicity. I have become a humble servant of goodness and fill my days with charitable endeavors. I just transferred half of my life savings to a Nigerian prince.
But I still feel like tweeting, so let’s try something new.
The New York Knicks blew up the Houston Rockets 137-115 on Monday night. Here are all the things I wanted to tweet during the game but couldn’t:
6:07 p.m. ET (Prelude)
@Fred Katz: On Sunday, the Mavericks lost to the Hornets for the second straight game and are now 36-39. If the season ended today, they would have the 10th best lottery finish. The Knicks better gear up – this pick goes to the end.
Note: If you liked Josh Hart’s trade when the Knicks made it a month and a half ago, you probably like it even more now. Not only did Hart excel, but New York did even better than anyone could have imagined with the first-round win they conceded to him.
The Knicks sent their 2023 first-round pick to the Portland Trail Blazers as part of the Hart deal. But they might as well have sent the Blazers the 2023 Dallas pick they own.
Now the Mavs pick is almost guaranteed to be better than the Knicks pick. If the season ended now at 6:07 p.m., Portland would pick New York 23rd. Dallas, meanwhile, has the tenth-worst record in the league, adding to the tension. The selection is Top 10 protected.
That means the Mavericks, who are less than a year away from making a conference finals appearance, could hit such a bad bottom that the Knicks won’t even get the election this summer. But if New York gets it, it has a chance of being in the lottery.
6:20 p.m. (Prelude)
@Fred Katz: I have an important PSA. Josh Hart is doing exactly what Jalen Brunson was crushed for a few weeks ago: He puts on a sock, then a shoe, then his other sock, then first his other shoe instead of socks, then shoes.
Note: All credit goes to Steve Popper, who covers the Knicks for Newsday. While we were in the locker room before the game, Popper noticed Hart sitting at his locker, slipping a sock over his left foot while he had already laced up a sneaker on his right. This, friends, is the work of a madman.
We are powerful, serious journalists. It’s our job to fight back when we spot such misdeeds, especially considering that a few weeks ago Brunson was blasted across the internet for doing the same in the background of an Immanuel Quickley Instagram Story.
So Popper and I asked Hart if he does sock-shoe-sock-shoe regularly. He immediately said no, reacting as if only crazy people would do that. Then he realized he had done it himself. He looked almost ashamed.
Hart had broken the fashion code without even realizing it. He sighed as he realized what he had done. “S-” he said, lengthening the “i”. He clarified that he only does this when he puts on sneakers to play as he wears multiple socks.
i don’t buy it
Upon reflection, the Knicks should perhaps regret this trade.
7:59 p.m. (26-22 Knicks; 3 minutes 49 seconds left in the first quarter)
@Fred Katz: Quickley, who started in place of the injured Brunson, is 3-of-4 from deep, 5-of-6 from the field and has 13 points. I sense a heat check is imminent on this next possession.
8:00 p.m. (26-22 Knicks; 3:07 left in the first quarter)
@Fred Katz: Yes, there is the heat check.
8:06 p.m. (33-31 Knicks; 50 seconds left in the first quarter)
@Fred Katz: Isaiah Hartenstein looks like a different guy from last season — and not just because his Achilles is doing better. He’s so much more comfortable on offense. I just gave the cutting Miles McBride a beautiful dish to lay up.
Note: A few weeks ago I asked Hartenstein why he was doing so much better in the second half of the season. He answered without hesitation.
“I can move now,” he said.
But he also seems much more comfortable in his role, which differs from the high-profile role he played with the Clippers a season ago. Hartenstein no longer touches the ball as often as he did in Los Angeles. He doesn’t often whip passes off the high post. But he has learned to put his rare touches to good use.
The template for McBride is another example of this.
The game also reminded me why the preseason still matters, even if it’s dwindled to four games with load management and end-of-bank games. Once McBride and Hartenstein ran that, I couldn’t help but recall one encounter the two ran almost perfectly during the Knicks’ show opening.
McBride cut beautifully. Hartenstein threw the ball where no one else could touch it. But McBride messed up the layup.
This time, when it mattered, he made it.
8:09 p.m. (36-33 Knicks; end of first quarter)
@Fred Katz: A more relaxed Julius Randle has shown tonight: 15 points in the first quarter. But the Knicks’ defensive struggles remain.
8:18 p.m. (44-37 Knicks; 8:20 p.m. to go in second quarter)
@Fred Katz: Brunson had his hands in his pockets for most of the game, causing serious stress for the beat writers, who sit on the mezzanine trying to figure out if there’s some protection on his injured hand.
Note: So here’s the scene: We all watched Brunson sit on the bench with both hands in his pockets for most of the game. The Knicks just called a time-out, and he got up and walked forward with his arms at his sides.
The Daily News’ Stefan Bondy noted that his right hand was finally free of his bomber. “There it is!” exclaimed Bondy. We had an insight.
Something’s on Brunson’s hand. But up in section 215, we’re too far away to decipher what it is — it’s tape or braces or something.
I’ve told gamers before that being a beat reporter is a socially acceptable form of stalking. We travel across the country asking these guys how they feel about winning and finding out random personal details about their lives. At times (like when we’re all leaning over the ledges of Madison Square Garden to get inches closer to a hand that might as well be a mile away), the job feels particularly absurd.
8:40 p.m. (halftime)
@Fred Katz: OK, I have a source. Brunson wears something protective on his right hand.
Note: I have a friend who is behind the Knicks bench for the game and asked him to take some photos of Brunson and send them to me. The pictures have now found their way to the other beat writers.
As I said, we are socially acceptable stalkers.
I promise you, even though I know you’re convinced otherwise, my girlfriend isn’t Annie Leibovitz.
After the game, head coach Tom Thibodeau referred to the protective gear on Brunson’s hand as a splint. He said Brunson went through the whole shootaround Monday morning. He was also fully involved in training on Sunday. It sounds like a return against the Miami Heat on Wednesday is a possibility.
9:13 p.m. (87-75 Knicks; 4:05 in the third quarter)
@Fred Katz: Quickley just finished an and-1 floater to surpass the 30-point mark. Once again, he steps up when he enters the first unit (and could end up with a career high tonight). He averaged 19.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game on 45-35-84 shooting in his 16 starts that came into play.
Note: BTW, Quickley is 13 of 16 out of the field at this point.
9:20 p.m. (97-83 Knicks; 1:42 left in third quarter)
@Fred Katz: Quickley is one shy of his career high. He has 37 points on – yes, that’s real – 14-of-17 shooting. The Rockets have started catching him, but he’s not forcing anything. He passes out from doubles teams before Houston can recover. The Knicks do a good job swinging the ball around when it does.
9:22 p.m. (102-90 Knicks; end of third quarter)
@Fred Katz: Just an update on a tweet from tonight: The Mavericks downed the Pacers 127-104 tonight, meaning they are now 37-39, the 11th worst record in the NBA. If the season ended today, the Knicks would have the 11th pick in the draft. Like I said, this thing will come down on the wire.
9:26 p.m. (105-90 Knicks; 10:56 p.m. left in fourth quarter)
I would definitely have retweeted Stefan Bondy about it.
Note: Fournier’s record is 241. Randle would need to make exactly four long balls per game in the Knicks’ last six games to pass him. It has to get hot, but it can be done.
Either way, what a statement of how much the game has changed since Randle first joined the league.
9:35 p.m. (117-92 Knicks; 20:21 left in fourth quarter)
@Fred Katz: Miles McBride just blocked Alperen Şengün. That’s all.
9:37 p.m. (120-95 Knicks; 7:22 to go in fourth quarter)
@Fred Katz: Now we wait and see if Thibodeau will bring back Quickley for a career high. He’s just a point away but the Knicks are so strong that Thibodeau could decide to give him extra rest. The Rockets are already starting to tag in the guys at the back of the bench.
9:40 p.m. (121-97 Knicks; 6:31 in the fourth quarter)
@Fred Katz: Thibs just took a frustrating time out in a 24-point game after the Knicks conceded a second-chance layup and the fans are making the wave I don’t think I’ve seen at MSG before. Here, too, Quickley comes from the break.
9:49 p.m. (132-99 Knicks; 4:11 in the fourth quarter)
@Fred Katz: Quickley hits a new career high. Thibs switches him out after a couple of free throws to give him exactly 40 points. He’s doing it along with nine assists on 14 of 18 total shots and 5 of 7 of 3.
Note: There’s a small wrinkle in Quickley’s game that’s worth noting, and it’s not just about his performance against the Rockets. He’s better than ever at 3-point arcs and that has fundamentally changed him as a player.
After shooting 9 of 11 on 2 points against Houston, he’s now nailing 53 percent of his 2s this season. He’s never been over 45 percent.
This is no coincidence. Quickley gained weight in the offseason, hoping it would help him finish better through contact. Its floater is more accurate than ever. Thibodeau noted after the game how aggressively the Knicks’ centers checked their men in drop coverage and opened lanes for him and the other guards.
This is a significant jump from season to season.
9:55 p.m. (end of game)
@Fred Katz: Finals: Knicks 137, Rockets 115.
Knicks improve to 43-33, fifth in the Eastern Conference.
• Quickly: 40-2-9
• Randle: 26-4-3
• Beret: 19-3-5
• Dirt: 14-9-6
• Toppin: 15-2-0
The Knicks shoot 58 percent from the field and 44 percent from 3.
Next up: A massive game Wednesday night against the seventh-seeded Miami Heat, who are just two games behind the Knicks in the loss column.
(Photo by Obi Toppin and Immanuel Quickley: Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)