Josh Hart proving key for Knicks in the paint, even if he'd rather play guard
Josh Hart #3 of the Knicks drives to the basket against Brandon Miller #24 and P.J. Washington #25 of the Charlotte Hornets during the second half of the game at Spectrum Center on January 29, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Credit: Getty Images
Josh Hart sat in front of his locker after the game Monday night, showered and wrapped in towels but moaning about how tired he was after the beating he took matching his 6-4 frame against the oversized frontcourt of the Charlotte Hornets. It’s a familiar refrain for Hart, who in his heart and mind insists he is a guard but takes on the assignment — one that he will now be counted on with Julius Randle sidelined for an undetermined amount of time.
Monday it was 39 minutes in the paint, grabbing 12 rebounds, handing out seven assists and scoring seven points. He also added, an assortment of bruises, with little time for recovery with a back-to-back game awaiting Tuesday at Madison Square Garden against the Utah Jazz.
“Josh is all talk,” Jalen Brunson said of Hart’s complaints. “All bark, no bite. So whenever the ball is thrown up in the air, he’s going 110% every single time, no matter what he says. So that’s just how he’s wired.”
Hart was relayed the comments from his friend and college teammate and smiled.
“I mean. It's either bark or I demand a trade,” he joked of his gripes. "So I don't think I could get traded this year so I don't have another avenue to go. So y'all can demand my trade. Demand my trade this year. I'm out.”
He clearly was joking, happily at home in New York where he was in the starting lineup Monday with Brunson and Donte DiVincenzo, whom he teamed up with to win an NCAA championship at Villanova. Ideally, he would like to be a shooting guard or at least a small forward, racing the ball up court. It's a role he does get occasionally with the Knicks and coach Tom Thibodeau, although he regularly out-jumps someone five or six inches taller for a defensive rebound.
On Monday morning before OG Anunoby was also scratched from the lineup with right elbow inflammation, Hart joked, “I’m definitely going to make sure Thibs knows OG is four inches taller and probably, like, 15 pounds heavier. So hopefully he knows that.”
But since the Knicks traded for Hart a year ago one of his best traits has been his versatility, his ability to guard any position and to go from battling in the paint to orchestrating the offense. He theoretically was a small forward Monday with Precious Achiuwa added to the starting lineup, too, but as the 12 rebounds indicate, he wasn’t living an easier life on the perimeter.
“We’re asking everybody to do everything,” Thibodeau said. “Last year we had Jericho [Sims] at [power forward], I think Precious can do it. I’m confident in OG. One of the great values with what we did with Josh — it’s really a point guard, three wings and a center. That’s the way everybody plays. And if you’re looking at matching up with people, we knew we wanted that to be part of our makeup.
“So we wanted to be comfortable doing that. So we went into the season with that in place. The big question mark and it’s a great question — we’re sacrificing size, but our rebounding wasn’t sacrificed, our defense wasn’t sacrificed. And that was the big thing. And what it does do is allows you to play at a different pace and gives you the drive-and-kick and that sort of thing. So offensively you don’t have to change.”
The task won’t change any time soon with Randle expected to be sidelined for weeks. The Knicks are still waiting for a final word that he will avoid surgery for the dislocated right shoulder he suffered Saturday and can return possibly as soon as after the All-Star break. The team did add a bit of backup insurance Tuesday by signing Taj Gibson to a 10-day contract, bringing back the Thibodeau and locker room favorite who was waived Jan. 7 just ahead of his contract becoming fully guaranteed for the season.
“You can’t replace those guys individually, so you have to count on your defense and rebounding and creating advantages for each other,” Thibodeau said after Monday's game. “We got the usual from Jalen but I thought Josh was fantastic and Donte was terrific, and I thought Precious' first time playing at the power forward and Jericho gave us really good minutes as well."
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
