Josh Hart missed his second consecutive preseason recreation on Thursday, because the Knicks proceed to err on the aspect of warning with the lingering mixture of damage and sickness that has clouded the beginning of his 2025-26 marketing campaign.
Hart entered coaching camp recovering with a splint on his proper ring finger, then suffered decrease again spasms simply seven minutes into the Knicks’ preseason opener in opposition to the Philadelphia 76ers in Abu Dhabi. He missed the second recreation abroad with that very same again subject, then skipped Wednesday’s observe in Tarrytown as a result of an undisclosed sickness.
With Hart sidelined once more, head coach Mike Brown caught with the identical beginning lineup he utilized in Tuesday’s win over the Celtics: Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Cities, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Mitchell Robinson.
That group is rapidly constructing early chemistry. And with Hart having missed a lot of the preseason, it’s turning into more durable to ascertain him cracking the beginning lineup forward of the Oct. 22 season opener in opposition to the Cavaliers.
Brown acknowledged as a lot forward of Thursday’s recreation in opposition to the Timberwolves.
“I think it has a chance to be pretty good. They’re long, they’re big, they’re versatile, and that’s what makes them exciting,” he mentioned. “So I believe it has an opportunity to be fairly good — however on the finish of the day, lots of people need to begin.
“A lot of people look at the starting unit as the be-all, end-all, but you know: to start is an honor, but also to be able to finish games is an honor. Both hold a lot of weight.”
Hart began each recreation he appeared in final season however was moved to the bench within the Jap Convention Finals because the Knicks prioritized dimension and rim safety with Robinson in opposition to the Pacers. The Villanova product thrived as a starter whereas Robinson rehabbed, routinely flirting with triple-doubles because the glue of the primary unit. However with Robinson wholesome and dominant in camp and preseason, the trail again into the beginning 5 has narrowed.
“I had the best year of my career last year, but that’s in the past,” Hart mentioned on Media Day. “I think I’m a starter in the league. I think I deserve to be a starter in the league, but at the end of the day, it’s what’s best for the team. Last year, I talked about sacrifice the whole time and kind of being that separate mentality and being a good steward of my gifts and those kinds of things. So I think it would be extremely selfish for me to go out there and demand to start and all those kinds of things. So, whatever Mike wants to do or doesn’t wanna do, I’m cool with. And time will tell what that is, but I’m gonna figure it out. I’ll figure it out.”
To date, Brown hasn’t had a lot of a have a look at Hart — however he’s seen loads of Robinson, who has been a power in prolonged preseason stretches. The Knicks middle pulled down 16 rebounds in simply 18 minutes within the Abu Dhabi opener, then adopted it up with six factors and eight boards in Recreation 2 in opposition to Philly.
“He’s been impressive. You don’t really know guys until you get around them. The most impressive thing is he’s got a collection of monster trucks, they’re out of this world. He drove a blue one yesterday, before I saw him in my rearview mirror. I heard him playing country music,” Brown mentioned with a smile. “He’s got a great personality. Obviously basketball-wise, you think he’s athletic, but some of the lobs that he catches are just amazing. And then you know he’s got good feet and he can switch onto certain guys, but to actually see him sit down and step-slide and guard guys, all that other stuff, it’s pretty impressive.”
The most important adjustment for Robinson has been adapting to the up-tempo model Brown needs to implement on each ends.
“He’s getting better, for sure. He does it in spurts, like most of us, doing it in spurts. Got to get to a point where it’s just natural every possession,” mentioned Brown. “With the way that Mitch runs, he’s a monster in a lot of different ways. Man, he could take somebody’s heart at that position just with his relentless pressure he can put on the opposing center when it comes to sprinting up and down the floor.”
Brown says he’ll begin trimming the rotation as Opening Evening approaches, however he nonetheless needs to offer all his gamers a second below the lights at The Backyard — together with Hart, if he can clear his remaining hurdles.
“Yeah, we’re going to start cutting it down, but one thing that I’d like to try to do is give everybody some minutes in The Garden. These guys work too hard,” Brown mentioned. “They’ve been too good of teammates to not try to find a way to get everybody on the floor at some point. It might not be tonight, maybe the next game. I don’t know. But that definitely is one of my goals.”
