May 2, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) walks off the court with a game ball after a series clinching victory against the Philadelphia 76ers in game six of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
NBA: Playoffs-New York Knicks at Philadelphia 76ers
(New York, NY) – Given the toughness, tenacity, and refusal to quit that’s routinely displayed by this Knicks squad, it’s not hard to understand why New York loves them.
It also makes perfect sense that a man with the name Hart would be such a prominent fixture. And it fits entirely that Josh Hart never sits during the fourth quarter – and really never takes a break during any playoff game.
In four of the Knicks first eight postseason contests, Hart has played all 48 minutes. He even logged a 53-minute game when New York lost in OT to Philadelphia during the opening round’s Game 5. Digging into the numbers further, Hart posted back-to-back 48 minute games – the first time an NBA player has done that since Jimmy Butler played the entirety of three straight playoff games in 2013, as a member of the Chicago Bulls.
Now, with OG Anunoby at risk of missing Game 3 – if not the rest of the entire series with a hamstring injury – Hart isn’t about to blink, or ask for a rest. Hart now has gone the distance in four of the Knicks’ first eight postseason games, including a 53-minute effort in an overtime loss to the 76ers in Game 5 of the first round.
“I’m playing 48 [minutes] anyways, dog. Ain’t s–t change,” Hart told reporters after New York’s Game 2 win against Indiana. Head Coach Tom Thibodeau is well known for using a short rotation and putting a lot of minutes on his players. Hart’s well aware, but insists his coach isn’t forcing the workload on him: “Thibs always asks me if I need [a break], and I always tell him no. As a competitor, you want to play, you want to play every second. So that’s something that I want to do.”
But how does he stay so productive given that many minutes played? With the Knicks out to a 6-2 start in these playoffs, Hart has averaged 18.0 points, 12.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game – averaging 46.8 minutes per contest. “Honestly, [it’s] just rest, recovery, and then, my Lord works in mysterious ways. That’s all I’ve got to say,” Hart explained. “[Wednesday] I felt like I didn’t have it at all…But He allows you to walk and not faint. I felt like I didn’t have it, but like I said, he works in mysterious ways.”
And given star point guard Jalen Brunson missed the entirety of the second quarter – while hot hand Anunoby was out for the fourth quarter with that hammy – Hart stepped up in a way that was absolutely needed. “Next man up,” is the Knicks philosophy. “I think we actually believe it. I think that’s what it is,” Hart said of that mantra.
“Obviously, you never want injuries and sometimes you say things just to give an answer and kind of get through it, but we actually believe that. There’s a lot of guys on this team that can start with other guys in this league, so when we say it, it’s not cliche. It’s not just we’re saying it just because it sounds good. We’re actually saying it because we believe it. I’ve got faith in every one of our guys. So with stuff like that, sometimes it sucks, it’s like damn we can’t catch a break. But we truly believe it’s next man up.”
Hart is clearly already standing tall, and refusing to back down. The “next man” up could turn out to be someone like Alec Burks, who logged his first action of these playoffs during Game 2.
