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The New York Knicks will have their hands full when they face the Houston Rockets on Monday night (8:45 p.m. ET, MSG). The Knicks will have to weather blazing first halves from Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun as they take on a Houston squad looking to snap a four-year playoff skid. On the other hand, some people will be suspicious about someone donning black-and-white attire instead of red.

“Does anyone know if Jacyn Goble is serving as the officiant?” According to Stefan Bondy of the New York Post, Josh Hart made a playful comment when the Knicks were getting ready on Sunday.

On February 12, 2024, in the city of Houston, US; As the fourth quarter comes to a close at Toyota Center, New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) responds to a call that affects the game against the Houston Rockets. Troy Taormina-Imagn Images / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images Must Be Credited!
As the crew chief in Brooklyn for the local Nets’ interconference duel against the Memphis Grizzlies, Goble will, in fact, attend a game on Monday night involving a New York team. As a result, he will not be able to visit the site of a crime he presided over last winter.

Goble became somewhat famous in February of last year while officiating the Knicks’ season-opening trip to Houston. In a tie game, he deemed Jalen Brunson guilty of a late foul on Aaron Holiday, who had a chance to win the game. To seal the 105-103 victory, Holiday made two of the three free throws that were given to him, but he purposefully missed the third.

Subsequently, the Knicks’ grievances were bolstered by the fact that the night’s crew head, Ed Molloy, had earlier acknowledged that the foul had been wrongly called. On the other hand, New York would have had a chance to play the overtime period they were denied since the league allowed a protest into the game.

In bringing up the absurdity from last year, the Knicks were able to make a statement about how the referees handle Brunson during games. Brunson, who is well respected for his long-range and post-basketball skills, leads the league in drives but only manages 5.2 free throws a game, as pointed out by Bondy in his report.

“The thing that he can do, probably as well as anyone in the league, is put players at a disadvantage,” said Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau, who has been vocal in his request for more calls going Brunson’s way. To get back on their feet after that is now on them. Those are fouls if you’re observing your body position while trying to attack the hoop.

To be fair, Brunson isn’t the only Knick having trouble getting to the charity stripe; the team ranks 29th in free throw attempts per game (18.6) and allows the fewest attempts to the stripe (16.6) heading into Monday’s game.