Hart Attack
Now that's how you make a first impression, folks... (Also, Jalen Brunson shows, once again, why he deserves to be an All-Star.)
Now that's how you make a first impression, folks.
After the Knicks traded for Josh Hart on Wednesday night, I was frequently asked if I thought he would be immediately inserted into the starting lineup or come off the bench. My response was that I believed Hart would serve as a reserve but, more importantly, earn his way into the "closing 5" sooner rather than later.
Well, as it turns out, it took just one game.
After a solid first half in his Knicks debut Saturday night vs. Utah, Josh Hart checked into the game with 4:26 remaining in the third quarter. He never checked back out. Over the final 16-plus minutes of regulation, Hart did all the little things that have made every coach he's ever played for fall in love with him. He boxed out and set screens and chased down loose balls and hit jumpers and made defensive rotations and kept balls alive on the offensive boards and kicked out passes to open three-point shooters.
When the final horn sounded, he had registered 11 points, eight rebounds, four assists, four steals, and two 3-pointers in 25 minutes. Most importantly, New York registered a 126-120 win.
Asked after the game what Hart brings to the Knicks, Jalen Brunson, who teamed up with Hart to win a national championship at Villanova, replied: "Everything. Whatever we need. He's been that player since the day that I met him. That's just who he is."
Speaking with reporters after his successful debut, Hart echoed similar sentiments. "I'm going to come in every day — I'm a blue-collar player. I'm going to do whatever I need to do, whatever the team needs me to do that day," said Hart. "I'm going to go out there and execute. I'm going to bring toughness, physicality and just smart plays."
He also acknowledged how much it meant to him to be embraced by the Garden crowd, who cheered for him loudly throughout the evening. "I loved it," Hart said. "They're embracing me right now, and I love it… It felt great for them to show me love the first time I came in. After those shots, it felt great."
As we know, great role players shine brightest when surrounded by stars. And the Knicks have two players worthy of being named All-Stars this season. Julius Randle tallied 31 points, six rebounds, two assists, and three 3-pointers on Saturday. New York's leading scorer was, once again, Jalen Brunson.
It's the second straight game both JB and JR have scored 30+ points. They are the first pair of Knick teammates to score at least 30 points in consecutive contests since Patrick Ewing and Gerald Wilkins in 1987.
Brunson finished Saturday's win with 38 points, three rebounds, five assists (vs. just one turnover), one steal, and two 3-pointers in 39 minutes. His production and efficiency these past two weeks have been astonishing.
The NBA announced the All-Star reserves on Thursday, February 2nd. In the five games New York has played since that announcement was made (officially snubbing JB), Brunson is averaging 31.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, 6.2 assists (vs. just 1.4 turnovers) and 2.6 made three-pointers while shooting a scorching 59% from the floor and 52% from downtown. To put that efficiency in context, Brunson has scored a total of 155 points on 89 FG attempts this month; RJ Barrett has scored 98 points and 91 FG attempts.
Among all players, Brunson ranks 30th in the NBA in FG attempts per game in February but sixth in scoring. He is one of only four players averaging more than 30 points a night and shooting above 55% from the field. The other three are Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid and LeBron James.
On the season, Brunson has a chance to become just the third player in NBA history to average at least 20 points and six assists while slashing 48/40/85%. Steph Curry and Larry Bird are the only players to match or exceed those numbers in these categories over a full season.
When you factor in Brunson's production (in addition to the stats above, he's second in the NBA in charges drawn!), along with the overall impact he's had on the Knicks (who won just 37 games last year), it's bewildering that he has not yet been named to the All-Star team. With Jaylen Brown sidelined by a facial injury, Brunson may still be headed to Salt Lake City if Brown cannot attend the festivities.
On the bright side, even if Brunson is snubbed yet again, having the opportunity to rest for a few days would be beneficial, considering the minutes he's logged and the pounding he's taken over the first four months of the season.
About Last Night:
🏀 Hart's impressive performance is undoubtedly a net positive, but it also had ramifications. Immanuel Quickley played well, racking up 15 points and five boards off the bench, but logged less than 25 minutes for only the second time since Christmas. Quentin Grimes played poorly for the second straight night, missing all three of his FG attempts and failing to score a single point in his 22 minutes of action. It's the first time he's logged less than 28 minutes since mid-Decmeber.
🏀 Thibs stuck with a nine-man rotation, which meant Miles McBride was the odd man out. It was the first time Deuce had been hit with a DNP-CD since late November.
🏀 Obi Toppin was on the floor for just nine minutes. At one point in the fourth quarter, Toppin was visibly upset after Barrett failed to find underneath the basket for a wide-open dunk. Obi, who has been underutilized offensively since arriving in NYC three years ago, has shown some frustration of late, but his histrionics last night were the most demonstrative we've seen.
🏀 RJ Barrett had a bad first half and finished the game 6-of-15 from the floor but ended up with 19/6/3 in 34 minutes. With Hart, as expected, establishing himself as a part of the rotation, how Thibs decides distributes playing time going forward will be fascinating to watch. My sense is that only two of the four among Hart, IQ, Grimes and Barrett will see more than 25 minutes each night, depending on matchups and how each is performing. On Saturday, Grimes couldn't knock down a shot, and Utah put a ton of length on the floor (making IQ a bit vulnerable on the defensive end), so Hart and RJ got the lion's share of minutes in the second half. If NY is playing a team that goes small or has a pair of penetrating perimeter players, it might be IQ who sees minutes over Barrett. Certainly, something to keep an eye on.
🏀 Some other quotes from Hart, which will surely endear him to New Yorkers: "I'm a guy that's going to bring it every night. I'm a guy that's going to be physical. I'm a guy that's going to do the dirty work. Going to rebound, going to defend. Get on the floor for a loose ball and do those kind of things… "I feel like that style fits every team, especially a New York team. That's what this city is about and what the city builds off of. I take that with pride. I'm just a blue-collar guy; I think that's really going to work well here."
🏀 The Heat beat the Magic in Orlando in overtime on Saturday. The Nets lost a heartbreaker to the Sixers (Spencer Dinwiddie hit a game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer that was initially ruled good on the floor but then reversed after a replay review). The Hawks crushed the Spurs. New York is now three games behind Brooklyn, 1.5 games behind Miami and 1.5 games ahead of Atlanta. The Knicks host the Nets Monday at MSG.
It looks like Hart is going to be a perfect fit for the Knicks! They needed a scrappy, hustling, great nose for the ball player who’s a playmaker and plays great D! Hopefully they can transition him to play most of RJ minutes because it’s really getting hard to watch RJ play. So many missed shots, not seeing wide open players, and horrible defense and the worst +/- in most games. I don’t know why Thibs keeps putting him out there to work through this stuff while the Knicks are trying to move up in playoff positioning. Besides I’m not sure if these are things he will ever work out.
Grimes and Obi’s inability to hit outside shots will relegate then to the bench. RJ walks the line there IMO. Brunson, Randle, and Hart should be closers. The other pieces will be predicated on the situation of the game and the opponents’ players on the floor. Hart will be a game changer for the Knicks in regards to pushing the pace as well as perhaps motivating the other players on the team to try and really perform better when they are on the court. Now if Mitch can only remain injury free!!