{"id":1949315,"date":"2026-05-22T10:36:51","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T07:36:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1949315"},"modified":"2026-05-22T10:36:51","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T07:36:51","slug":"the-josh-hart-and-soul-of-the-new-york-knicks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1949315","title":{"rendered":"The (Josh) Hart and soul of the New York Knicks"},"content":{"rendered":"
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NEW YORK \u2014 Josh Hart\u2019s jersey tasted like resentment.<\/p>\n

A man who has done all of the work \u2014 hand placement, wide base, visualize, follow-through \u2014 felt betrayed in the moment that this all was meant for.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Midway through the first quarter of Thursday\u2019s Game 2 Eastern Conference finals matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the New York Knicks\u2019 forward stood alone, just him, a basketball and a target, like he has done a million times in his life. This, too, was by design, as the Cavaliers\u2019 defense came into the series ignoring Hart, a streaky shooter surrounded by more fatal offensive threats, as if he were the little kid on the playground begging to play ball with the older boys.<\/p>\n

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Hart rose, the ball rotated perfectly leaving his fingertips, and then his shot bruised the rim. It was his third straight 3-point miss to start the game and eighth of the young series. Hart turned toward his bench. He stuffed his face with his jersey. He tried to squeeze the pulp out of the ball. It was yet another moment of vulnerability from someone who always wears his heart on his sleeve.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose first three \u2026 they felt good,\u201d Hart said. \u201cI was kind of frustrated with it because, obviously, I\u2019ve been putting in the reps (with assistant coaches). I was frustrated at first. I was like, \u2018Bro, this is not translating right now.’\u201d<\/p>\n

The way to alleviate self-resentment, though, is by giving yourself grace.\u00a0<\/span>Hart\u2019s moment of frustration was short-lived. He gathered himself. He remained confident in the work. Then he drilled five of his next eight 3-pointers en route to a 26-point performance in the Knicks\u2019 109-93 victory<\/a> that gave them a 2-0 series lead.<\/p>\n

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As Hart has gotten older, he\u2019s learning to be nicer to himself. At his core, Hart is a perfectionist, which is ironic given that the beauty of his game is that it\u2019s helter-skelter in all the best ways imaginable. He\u2019s a competitor who makes something out of nothing, who sees the game in a way that makes some of his peers jealous.<\/p>\n

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When Hart is upset on the court, everyone can see it. His snarl is his trademark. Hart\u2019s upper lip slants to the right, creating a crease that accentuates his cheekbone on that side of his face. His arms flail. His voice cuts through a raucous crowd. Usually, though, that outward frustration is rooted in how he views himself.<\/p>\n

Hart knows how NBA defenses \u2014 the smart ones, at least \u2014 are going to guard him. He knows how important his 3-point shooting has been and will be to unlocking the Knicks\u2019 offense. Every day, he prepares for such moments, seeking inside and outside help to refine his shot. Hart is also aware of how important his ballhandling and passing are to what New York does. Turnovers used to beat him up as much as missed jumpers, to the point he\u2019d dwell on it like a bad date with a cute girl. He\u2019d compound frustrations and let them linger, impacting one play and the next.<\/p>\n

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\u201cOne of the things I try to do is play with more joy and more grace,\u201d Hart said. \u201cI don\u2019t really celebrate when I score or make a good pass. I kick myself, probably a little bit too much, when I miss shots or make turnovers. I think I started to learn to play the game and give myself more grace and not to try and be perfect. I\u2019m happy with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hart isn\u2019t for the analytical darlings. Over the last two years, media, fans and outsiders have come up with reasons why taking Hart out of the starting lineup could benefit New York. Five shooters on the floor, in theory, would send the Knicks\u2019 already dynamic offense into another realm. Yet a lot of that wishing is based on aesthetics. The spacing may look good, it may lead to bigger offensive performances here and there, but it would also rid the starting lineup of someone willing and able to bring the starpower together, someone who can turn a good shot into a great shot with a pass, someone who just so happens to win every 50-50 ball or who can up the tempo for a group that can sometimes play at the pace of a Chet Baker song.<\/p>\n

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The Knicks had just five five-man lineups play 75 or more minutes together during the regular season. Hart was part of three of those groups, and none of those carried a negative net rating. The other two five-man lineups featured one of Miles McBride or Landry Shamet in Hart\u2019s place alongside the other four starters. Both carried a negative net rating.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy time with Andre Iguodala in Golden State helped a lot (understanding players like Hart),\u201d Knicks coach Mike Brown said. \u201cThey\u2019re different players, but they\u2019re similar players because Andre is edgy, too. Andre is a hell of a player. I mean, he\u2019s a great player. He does so many little things that if you\u2019re not careful, you won\u2019t appreciate them. It\u2019s the same with Josh. He does so many little things that don\u2019t show up in this box score \u2026 starting with the versatility that he gives us defensively that you have to \u2014 and I mean, me \u2014 be careful not to dismiss it.<\/p>\n

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\u201cOn top of that, because he\u2019s so impactful as a connector, I got to give him more leash than anyone else. I have to let him go be him and get out of his way. That\u2019s hard sometimes as a coach because you\u2019re looking at Xs and Os, you want everything to be perfect, you\u2019re looking at the box score and looking at this \u2026 with Josh and with Andre, all that s\u2014 should be thrown out of the window because those guys are winners.\u201d<\/p>\n

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With 3:57 left in the third quarter, Hart stood in the corner waiting for Jalen Brunson to pass him the ball. He was in his shooting stance, his hands out and knees bent. Confident. The ball hit Hart\u2019s hands, and he turned to let another 3 fly. This time, though, Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley didn\u2019t turn his back to Hart. He ran out and tried to contest the shot. The little kid on the playground got everyone\u2019s attention. Bottoms.<\/p>\n

Hart turned around and punched his chest as the Madison Square Garden crowd had transitioned from groans to elation when Hart was rising to shoot.<\/p>\n

That tasted much sweeter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK \u2014 Josh Hart\u2019s jersey tasted like resentment. A man who has done all of the work \u2014 hand placement, wide base, visualize, follow-through \u2014 felt betrayed in the moment that this all was meant for.\u00a0 Midway through the first quarter of Thursday\u2019s Game 2 Eastern Conference finals matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-1949315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1949315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1949315"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1949315\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1949315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1949315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1949315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}