Friday, February 18th, 2022

  The Opening Tip

• A growing list has been tricked by a fake NBA Twitter account 

• Stephen A. Smith dropped a classic Knicks rant on Wednesday 

• DeMar DeRozan is out here breaking Wilt’s records

Sunday's All-Star Game

 1. The running list of people and websites duped by Ballsack Sports 

(Fox Sports was duped here by Ballsack Sports)

There is an account on Twitter called @Ballsacksports which, since last June, has been tweeting out erroneous stories about the NBA.A few recent examples: 

• A made up quote by Enes Freedom saying he could have been better than LeBron, but chose to be ‘more than an athlete.’ 

• A made up quote by David Blatt saying LeBron wouldn’t be very good if he played in Europe. 

• A made up report that Kyrie asked the Cavs in 2017 to trade LeBron for more shooting.    

You’d think the Twitter world would be able to identify “@BallSackSports’ as a parody account. But not always.A list of people and places that have been duped so far: 

• Fox Sports ran with a story from BSS that Josh Smith said LeBron wouldn’t make it in his era. (Smith entered the NBA after LeBron.) 

• Twitter’s ‘What’s happening’ section ran with a story from BSS that Kevin Garnett said he won his title without help, unlike people in today’s game. 

• WFAN fell for the same story.

• Fox Sports’ Nick Wright ran with a story from BSS that Rob Pelinka was in DisneyLand during the trade deadline. 

• Sports Illustrated ran with a story by BSS that Scottie Pippen said Michael Jordan ruined basketball.

• A bettor claims he placed $50 on the Jazz against the Lakers on Wednesday because of a BSS exclusive that LeBron was out with a ‘phallus strain.’

On the other end of the spectrum, 76ers GM Daryl Morey, cunning enough to figure out the schtick, gave BSS a shoutout during his regular Philly radio appearance. Listen here.

 2. Daily GIF: Luka at the buzzer           

Luka Doncic dropped 49, including the 3-pointer above, last night.In four games since trading Kristaps Porzingis, he’s scored 51, 49, 45 and 21 points, and Dallas is 3-1.

 3. Trivia time  

Two players have won the 3-Point Contest three times. Who are they?Hint: 1980s and ‘90sAnswer at the bottom.

4. A condensed transcript of Stephen A. Smith’s Knicks rant on Wednesday night  

ICYMI, the Knicks blew a 28-point lead to the Nets on Wednesday night, despite the Nets not having Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant or newly-acquired Ben Simmons.For whatever reason, this particular terrible loss was the final step toward nihilism for many Knicks fans, including Stephen A. Smith, who delivered a gem on NBA Countdown right after the game:(We editorialized on the caps lock and varying sized fonts.) 

You know … I got a good friend that’s a Knicks fan that just sent me a text message. You know what he said to me? He said he praises the lord, prays everyday. He mentors kids. He said, ‘We as Knicks fans deserve better than this.’ And he’s absolutely right. The New York Knicks are a national disgrace, ladies and gentlemen. They’re horrible. Thibs! We hearing that the New York Knicks as an organization ain’t too fond of him these days. He MIGHT be out. I don’t give a damn if he was gone tonight. Julius Randle! I’m done with him. Leon Rose! We got inmates in state penitentiaries more visible than this man! He’s the president of basketball operations. We CAN’T FIND THIS MAN. They are TRASH. HORRIBLE. No KD. No Kyrie. No Ben Simmons. And you lose a 28-point lead, courtesy of a rookie, by the name of Cam Thomas, who’s decent. PROBABLY GOOD. 16 points in the fourth quarter? THE NEW YORK KNICKS ARE TRASH! SPIKE LEE SHOULDN’T EVEN SHOW UP FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON. TRACY MORGAN, DON’T GO! DON’T GO! NOBODY GO! YOU’RE HORRIBLE! I’M SO DONE … with this team. YOU JUST STINK!  

.

5. By the numbers

7 games, 35 points, 50 percent shooting

DeMar DeRozan on Wednesday had his seventh straight game scoring 35-plus points on 50 percent-plus shooting, a new, niche and very impressive record.The previous record was six, held by Wilt Chamberlain.

  27.2 PPG

The coolest player in college basketball this season is Iowa’s Caitlyn Clark. She’s leading the country in PPG (27.2) and routinely drills logo-length 3s. If you see an Iowa game on TV, drop in for a few minutes.

  19 percent

For some reasons, FiveThirtyEight’s NBA prediction model loves the Celtics. It gives them a 19 percent chance at winning the title, tied for best in the league.

 6.  Quick Hits 

• Jimmy Butlernailed a double-OT dagger last night. 

• The Suns enter the All-Star Break with a 48-10 record, best in the league by 6.5 games. 

• Anthony Davis is going to miss at least four weeks with an ankle injury. 

• Adam Silver came out against the vaccine rule keeping Kyrie out of home games. 

• According to researcher Mike Lynch, this was the 800th buzzer-beater in NBA history.

 7.  Reads 

• Steph Curry is reimagining what’s possible [The Ringer]

• Meet the NBA Celebrity All-Star Game roster [SB Nation]

• Inside Kevin Durant's role in Brooklyn's James Harden trade [Bleacher Report]