Knicks head coach Mike Brown says he made a mistake moving Josh Hart to a bench role to start the season.
“As time has gone on, we’ve gotten a better feel for how we want to play [Josh], and he’s gotten a better feel too,” Brown said after the Knicks’ victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday. “Back [in training camp], he obviously could have complained or threw a fit, and he didn’t. He understood what sacrifice is, especially as a leader. As a leader, you got to be the first to do all of those things, and he did it, and he continued to believe in the process even though what I was doing was wrong at the time. So, I take my hat off like I said, not just to him but to everybody else for continuing to uphold our standard while we’re trying to figure this thing out.”
Brown, who replaced Tom Thibodeau after the Knicks’ run to the Eastern Conference Finals, chose to start Mitchell Robinson over Hart in training camp. But the Knicks sputtered out of the gate, losing five of their first six road games, and Brown eventually had a realization: the Knicks function better with Hart — their connective tissue, defensive irritant, and secondary play-maker — on the floor.
He started Hart in each of the Knicks’ last two games, both wins, but Wednesday’s victory in Charlotte marked the first time all season Brown brought Robinson off the bench when both were available.
“[Josh] makes things easier for everybody,” Brown said after Hart scored 22 points on 4-of-6 shooting from three. “You’ve got a new coach, new system, and you look back especially at our first three losses on the road, and I think two of those three losses, Josh was sitting next to me in the fourth. I’ll be the first to say that wasn’t the right thing to do because he just does so many great things for our group and for our coaching staff.”
Brown has repeatedly said this first year is a joint learning curve — players adjusting to an entirely new system, and the coach learning the nuances of a roster he did not assemble. Hart, more than most, has forced him to recalibrate.
Hart entered training camp believing his play last season earned him the right to remain a starter — a role he views as a point of pride. So it stung when Brown named Robinson the preseason opener starter in Abu Dhabi. Hart then suffered a lower-back injury that sidelined him for nearly the entire preseason, and by the time he returned, Brown had penned him into a reserve role. Even on nights Robinson sat out due to load management, Brown kept Hart on the bench.
“I tried to do whatever this team needs. Obviously, starting in this league is something, you know, that’s big. It is something that you want to do,” Hart said on Wednesday. “And, you know, I’ve been a starter for three years with part of the time dealing with some injuries. But, you know, [starting is] something I’m comfortable with, so if that is the way he wants to do it, then that is perfect.”
Injuries ultimately forced Brown’s hand. OG Anunoby remains out with a strained hamstring suffered on Nov. 15, and Landry Shamet went down with a shoulder sprain on Nov. 22 — the same shoulder he dislocated last year. Anunoby is set to be re-evaluated over the weekend; Shamet is out at least three more weeks.
With two key wings down, Hart’s value became undeniable. Brown may have started the year trying to reshape his rotation, but there’s an age-old saying: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Hart is averaging 10.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game on 38.2% shooting from three-point range. He started 77 games for the Knicks last season and led all qualifying NBA players in minutes per game, and now, it appears Brown has figured out why.
