The Knicks got beat up on by the Nuggets at home. Matthew Miranda’s “n” and “d” keys aren’t working right on his keyboard. How are these two things similar? Read to find out!

Usually a recap takes me between 90 minutes and three hours to write. I type everything I write nowadays, even my fictions. I’ve always tried to do things as quickly as possible. Piano pieces, video games, typing: my brain always wants to go full speed. With recaps or fiction, I’m drawn to typing because I can type as fast as I think, so it feels like the ideas can come out as soon as they exist. I wonder sometimes what I lose by not slowing down my writing or my thinking.

The “n” and “d” keys on my keyboard are messed up. I have to hold the “n” down for like five seconds to work, and every time a word has a “d” I have to hit CTRL+V to paste it in. It is a struggle to not get crazy frustrated, especially when recapping a game against a team with both letters in its name. What used to be smooth, effortless work now feels a muddied, tangled mess. If you saw last night’s 114-89 Nuggets win over the Knicks, you know what that’s like. Denver looked like typing 100 words a minute. The Knicks were all hunt and peck.

Denver came into the game ranked second in offensive rating. New York was fourth in defensive rating. Something had to give. Surprising nobody, Denver’s rating rings truer. This is Paul Millsap’s fourth year with the Nuggets. That makes him the most recent Nugget starter to join the team. Jamal Murray’s been there five years and Nikola Jokic, Gary Harris, and Will Barton are in their sixth years there. Denver is a brilliant offensive clockwork because they have a brilliant passing center at the hub of their sets, but also because of their continuity. People know where people will be, what shots they’ll take, etc. Their style of play looks like intelligent design.

Last night the Knicks looked like God’s rough draft. And that’s OK! A rough draft’s only job is to exist. If you have a draft down on paper, then you have something you can work with; you can take time with it and see what needs to be added, what needs to be trimmed, and what needs to be scrapped. In the past, the Knicks weren’t even at the draft stage; they were random sketches and tracings with no semblance of intent. There is intent now. There is purpose. There just isn’t enough talent. Not against a team like Denver.

Behind Jokic’s all-around excellence and Gary Harris playing more like the Gallant of his early years versus the Goofus we’ve seen the past few, the Nuggets were up double digits in the first quarter. They owned the paint on both ends and their bench came in and built on top of the foundation the starters left them. Early in the second they were up 18 and any pretense of a competitive match was going, going, gone.

The Knicks’ offense was a whole lotta driving and dishing to guys who either wouldn’t or shouldn’t shoot from deep; a whole lotta passing up an initial open look only to end up with something worse, often with the shot clock running low. Immanuel Quickley did this a number of times. He wasn’t alone. By halftime the gap was 21. Julius Randle was 8-of-11 from the floor. The rest of the team was 8-of-27. The Knicks could not force any turnovers, which is partly why they scored absolutely zero fast-break points, a feat they’d match in the second half. It wasn’t always a failure of execution. On multiple occasions, the 6-foot-4 Harris came up with offensive rebounds with three taller Knicks all around him.

The lead ballooned as high as 30 in the fourth. The Knicks lost, and lost badly. As I watched the game, my two dogs were happily playing together and a slow, relaxing snowfall made the world outside a snowglobe. Life goes on. Bad teams lose to great ones. If the Knicks take lessons from the loss, then their rough draft will turn into something they can work with down the road. Tell someone you love them today. Practice some self-care. In the great scheme of things, for you, me and the Knicks, last night changes nothing. 

Notes

• The extended garbage time allowed for sightings of Dennis Smith Jr., Iggy Brazdeikis and Theo Pinson. 

• My adopted son, Bol Bol, also got some run late in the fourth. He will be a Knick someday. My heart knows it. 

• Jokic may be my favorite player to watch, at this point. Bigs who can pass give me rug burn in all the right places.

• Jokic is currently averaging a triple-double. Do you know the only two Nuggets in NBA history to average 20-plus points and 10-plus rebounds? MSG trivia said there was only one, but I had a feeling they missed somebody. They did.

• A tough night for RJ Barrett. Early on he did the thing where he drives and maintains his vision to look for others. I think he’s a better passer than he is a scorer. I hope he uses the threat of the former to help with the latter, rather than vice-versa.

• Payton never seems to hit floaters or runners. I know I’ve seen him make them. I just feel like I only ever see him miss.

• Nerlens Noel’s hands are… not good. He blew a couple alley-oops and an open cut to the hoop after bungling passes.

• My partner noticed the shape of the 3-point line looks a little different. About halfway between the corners and the elbows, the arc stops at a point, rather than continuing as a half-circle. Is this new? Anyone else notice this?

• Credit to whoever gave Mike Breen this stat: last year at this stage of the season, home teams were 21 games over .500. Entering last night they were five under.

• Facundo Campazzo is listed as 5-foot-11, and there is no way that’s not a lie. Maybe it’s the short arms, but he really does look like Peter Dinklage around NBA players. For those of you familiar with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Campazzo gives off a strong Jonathan vibe.

• Monte Morris, facially, has some LeBron in him. Check him out. 

• I love love LOVE the Nuggets’ City Edition jerseys. In my lifetime, Denver has consistently sported the hottest jerseys in the league, if not all of sports. 

• The only other Nuggets to put up 20/10 are ex-Knick Antonio McDyess & HOFer Dan Issel.

Quoth Clyde Frazier talking about his reaction in 1967 when the then-ABA Nuggets made him their first-round pick: “Where’s Denver?” Denver is a mile high, both geographically and as far as the Knicks are concerned. Next game is tonight when New York visits Charlotte, a fellow .500 team in a three-way tie with the Knicks and Cavaliers for the No. 8 seed. That makes it the biggest Knicks/Hornets January tussle... ever. See you there.