Josh Hart is responsible for more plays than the box score will ever admit.
Grab a rebound, and the options unfold. He can go coast-to-coast and finish himself, or he can scan the floor in quarterback mode, reading coverage, deciding how best to initiate the Knicks’ offense without needing a play call. He knows that every second he holds the ball is one fewer Jalen Brunson has to spend fending off the opposition’s most aggressive defender. He knows OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges need touches to find their rhythm. And he knows Karl-Anthony Towns trailing in transition means a clean look at one of the game’s most automatic pick-and-pop threes.
Hart is the Knicks’ connector — the pulse between stops and buckets. And it’s that connective tissue, not his scoring, that’s made him one of New York’s most indispensable players.
“It’s the balance of being aggressive and then also being a connector,” said Anunoby after practice on Wednesday. “But he does a good job of doing both.”
That’s true — but Detroit knows the numbers. And in a first-round playoff series that will likely test every inch of the Knicks’ half-court offense, the Pistons are betting that Hart’s three-point shot won’t hold up under pressure.
“He’s a basketball player. So what is he? He’s hard to quantify and describe all of the things that he does,” said head coach Tom Thibodeau. “He’s more of a scorer than a pure shooter, but he can shoot. And he’s great without the ball, great on the break. Just read the game. If you’re open, shoot. If you’re guarded, make a play. He can play extremely well even if he’s not shooting well. That’s what we need from him.”
Hart’s jumper has always lived on the edge of volatility — streaky enough to swing a playoff series in either direction. After arriving in New York at last year’s trade deadline, he hit 51.9% of his threes over 25 regular-season games. Then came the cold spell: 31% from deep across a full season, a career low.
And then came the postseason.
Four threes in each of his first three playoff games against the 76ers. A blistering 43.2% from downtown in Round 1. A regression to 27.3% in Round 2 — one made harder by an abdominal injury and the weight of a short-handed roster. The inconsistency wasn’t lost on anyone.
This season? Same story. Hart finished the year at 33% from deep — 34% on wide-open attempts — with shooting nights to close the regular season that swung between lights-out and lid-on.
- 2-of-3 vs. Cleveland (April 12)
- 0-for-6 across Boston and Phoenix (April 6 & 8)
- 2-of-2 vs. Atlanta (April 5)
- 3-of-9 vs. Cleveland (April 2)
- 3-of-16 combined across the six games prior
So what’s the plan? There can only be one: Work. Sweat. Reps.
“This week is a good week to really put the work in on it,” Hart said Wednesday. “My friend has a court at his house, so I’m getting shots up before practice there, after practice at the facility and either back at the house or again at night. Probably two or three shooting workouts a day.”
There’s no set number for him — just feel for one of the league’s premier rhythm players.
“I don’t want to force up an extra hundred makes with bad habits,” he explained. “That doesn’t benefit me in the long run. It’s about my body feeling right, and the reps being good reps.”
Hart knows the Pistons will sag when he’s at the three-point line. He knows Boston — should the Knicks advance — will do the same. He knows they’ll trap Brunson and swarm Towns, challenge Anunoby and Bridges to create, and dare Hart to make them pay.
He knows what’s coming.
“Last playoffs I was extremely comfortable with added shots,” he said. “Sometimes, I’ll pass up a look to get someone else involved, and people on the outside might not love that. But I’m gonna play my game. The ball has energy. When everyone touches it, everything — defense, communication, — gets better.”
That’s Hart’s philosophy in a nutshell. Not just take the shot — but take the right one. And even when he doesn’t shoot, he keeps the energy flowing.
“I think he’s unique because he rebounds the ball at a really elite level,” said Thibodeau. “He’ll go get them in traffic when it matters most. And it’s what he does after — pushing pace, making plays off the dribble, moving without the ball. The hustle plays. That’s what he brings.”
But this is the playoffs, where your flaws are your opponent’s game plan.
Hart’s going to be tested. He’s already preparing. And if the Knicks need a big shot from him to survive a possession, a quarter, a game a series?
That’s why he’s in the lab around the clock, getting shots up everywhere he can.
There will be moments where other players won’t be available for touches. The Pistons will see to it. And in those instances, the Knicks will need Hart to come up big.
“I know the shots are gonna be there, but I also want to make sure we get those guys involved offensively,” he said. “So I’m obviously gonna shoot the shots that I have to take and I’m comfortable taking, but also gonna make sure I help get other guys touches.”
