INDIANAPOLIS — Josh Hart volunteered to return off the bench. It’s a thought the newly named backup ahead had earlier than the Knicks’ closeout Recreation 6 of their second-round collection towards the Boston Celtics. In that collection, Hart, the NBA’s premier rebounder beneath 6-foot-10 (he’s 6-foot-4), was fighting Boston’s resolution to play seven-foot middle Luke Kornet in a twin large lineup alongside Al Horford.
Hart’s concept for a counter? Transfer to the bench and begin Mitchell Robinson alongside Karl-Anthony Cities.
“It was something that I’ve had in the back of my mind, and I’ve always been wiling to do,” Hart mentioned after the Knicks’ Recreation 3 victory over the Pacers on Sunday. “Down 0-2, especially with how [Robinson] played last game, that was something that we had to do. And obviously that’s a group decision that really boils down to Thibs and myself.”
Hart and Thibodeau stored the choice tucked by means of morning shootaround and pregame media availability. The Knicks introduced Robinson because the starter alongside Cities, Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges half-hour forward of tipoff on Sunday, that means Hart would come off the bench for the primary time all season.
“It was never going to be a tough day for me because I had a hand in that decision,” Hart mentioned at his locker after the sport. “When I’m in a decision like that and kind of got the ball rolling on that, it was funny. Y’all [the media] are scrambling, trying to get answers, and I never really cared because it was kind of my decision. I was comfortable with it.”
Hart nonetheless performed 34 minutes and completed with eight factors, 10 rebounds and 4 assists in Recreation 3. He was a part of the fourth-quarter lineup that erased a 20-point Pacers lead, and the Knicks in the end outscored the Pacers by 5 in Hart’s minutes on the ground.
“[The lineup change] really didn’t impact either guy from a minute standpoint. So to me, when Mitch was coming off the bench, he’s a starter coming off the bench. When Josh comes off the bench, he’s a starter coming off the bench. Their minutes are gonna be the same. And both guys mix and match,” Thibdoeau mentioned after the sport. “Each guys are comfy with each items. The factor that I like about Josh is the unselfishness. You’re involved since you’re not solely impacting him however you’re impacting different guys within the beginning lineup.
“So you gotta make sure that’s all good, and then you’re also impacting the second unit in a different way, so then you have to figure out, ‘OK, how can we put this all together where we can make it work?’ So that also factored into those other guys working in so we could get all the things that each guy provided for both units.”
Earlier within the day, after morning shootaround, Hart mentioned he would settle for no matter position the staff gave him transferring ahead, however famous that he noticed himself as a starter, and thought he earned the beginning nod together with his play in the course of the common season.
After the Knicks’ Recreation 3 victory, his tune modified.
“It was funny. Everyone was saying things to me, guys were texting me on other teams. I’m like, brah, I don’t care. I don’t care if I start. I don’t care if I play 20 minutes. If we win, we win,” Hart mentioned. “Whoever won the championship five years ago, you have no idea who the starters are. You know that those guys won, and they have that camaraderie and that connection for life. It doesn’t matter how many points you score, it doesn’t matter how many minutes you play. It doesn’t matter if you start. It depends on if you win, and at the end of the day that’s the most important thing for me.”
His teammates comprehend it. Hart is perhaps some of the outspoken gamers carrying orange and blue, however the colours, the win-loss document, and the identify on the entrance of the jersey matter greater than the identify and quantity on the again.
“Yeah, he wants to win,” mentioned Brunson. “It shows who he is as a person, a player and a teammate. He doesn’t care for anything individual. He just wants to win. And so, it’s a true testament of a great teammate.”
Initially Revealed: Could 26, 2025 at 10:47 AM EDT
