New York is known to overpower all that came before — such as Reggie Jackson in Oakland and Mark Messier in Edmonton — making it easy to forget that Josh Hart spent parts of seven seasons with three teams (Lakers, Pelicans, Trail Blazers) before the career-altering trade that brought him to the Knicks in 2023.
Until arriving in New York, Hart had never reached the playoffs. But since reuniting with Jalen Brunson, the Knicks have made the second round in four straight seasons, marking the first time the franchise has done so since Patrick Ewing’s final seasons with the team (1997-2000).
So, what does that mean to a former national champion?
“Not a damn thing,” Hart said before Game 1 of the conference semifinals. “That’s not the goal. The goal isn’t to advance to one series or two series. That’s not a goal that we have as individuals or as a team. To be honest, that’s pretty irrelevant. We’ve gotta make sure we do what we’re supposed to do and focus on advancing in this series.”
In the 137-98 series-opening blowout of the 76ers, Hart was essentially the only Knick who didn’t catch fire.
But as usual, he did just about everything else.
Coming off an uneven first-round series against the Hawks — in which Hart averaged 10.2 points, 9.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.3 steals, but shot 41.1 percent from the field and 5-for-23 on 3-pointers — the do-everything guard repeatedly ignited the Madison Square Garden crowd with his unrivaled energy and relentless defense, getting the offense into transition and treating every loose ball as if his job were at stake.
Hart, who ranks third in Knicks history in triple-doubles, finished with eight points, three steals, eight rebounds and six assists in just 26 minutes, while shooting 3-for-7 from the field (1-for-2 on 3-pointers).
“We want to play a little fast, so being physical, getting stops, pushing the pace, doing those kinds of things is something we’re trying to do, and we’ve got to keep it up,” Hart said. “We need to make sure we’re focused on Game 2 and mentally locked in … They’re definitely gonna come out aggressive.”
In the 2024 first-round matchup against Philadelphia, Hart was one of the biggest reasons why the Knicks prevailed in the teams’ first playoff matchup in 35 years.
He averaged over 46 minutes per game and ranked second on the Knicks in scoring (16.8) and assists (4.5), while leading the team in rebounds (12.3), shooting 43.2 percent and delivering the series-winning 3-pointer.
Once again, the 76ers had no one who could provide the same spark as Hart, no player as motivated, no player who cares half as much about the final score.
“Where we’re at right now, everyone is being unselfish,” Hart said. “We’re willing to sacrifice individual numbers and stats for the betterment of the team. And when we do that, we’re playing our best basketball.
“Being unselfish, that’s the biggest thing.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
