Indianapolis – Sunday evening, for the first time 485 daysJosh Hart came out of the bench for the New York Knicks, Give way in the starting program to center Mitchell Robinson in a movement aimed at providing a shock to the system of a Lineage that are stagnant In recent months.
It would not be unknown for the change at Rankle Hart. After all, he had just turned the best season of his eight -year career, with an average of 13.6 points out of 52.5% shooting to go with 9.6 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.5 interceptions in a 37.6 -minute league per game. He had established himself as a two -way vital piece of a team of Knicks who qualified for the final of the Eastern Conference for the first time in 25 years, pulling 41.3% from the range of 3 points and playing a huge role in the closure of the two pistons in the Tour 1 and the Celtics favored in the round 2.
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Players stamped as this consequence are generally not sent to the second unit … Unless, of course, that they volunteer to go.
“I mean, it was never going to be a difficult day for me,” said Hart after the last return to the breath of these series, 106-100 Victory On the Indiana Pacers in match 3 of the Eastern Conference final of 2025. “Because I contributed to this decision.”
Sitting at his locker after the victory, which saw the Knicks erase a 20-point deficit in first half and run in front of the hosts with a fourth roaring quarter of 36-20, Hart explained that he had met Tom Thibodeau and expressed that he was comfortable getting out of the bench to make room for Robinson-a continuation of a dialogue that said Hart.
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“It was a conversation that I had before,” said Hart. “I had a conversation … before match 6 (against the Celtics), while I was struggling with Luke Kornet’s match.”
After high performances in the exciting victories of New York in matches 1 and 2 in Boston, Hart went to 5 for 16 of the field in the next two games, having trouble taking place while being accompanied by the 7 feet Kornet, to always pack the painting and stifle the other Scoring efforts of the Knicks. And while Hart scored a 24 -point qualifying series in match 5, making five of his nine 3 -point attempts, the Celtics dominated New York of 24 points in his 36 minutes – a flash of light red that time could be ripe for a change.
Josh Hart did not start match 3, but finished it with big games in the section. (Photo by Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)
(Gregory Shamus via Getty Images)
“I couldn’t really understand this,” said Hart. “And match 6, I had a pretty good match, but that’s something I had in my mind, and I have always been ready to do.”
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Hart had a raw 2 match 2, scoring six points out of three shooting attempts with a single decisive pass in 28 ineffective minutes in which he failed to charge the defenders of Pacers Andrew Nembhard and Tyrese Haliburton for having assaulted himself to him at the offensive at half-earth from New York elsewhere. Robinson, on the other hand, continued to have a massive impact on the interior of match 2, entering nine rebounds (four offensive) and blocking three shots in 29 minutes – during which the Knicks outstripped the six -point pacers.
“You know, at the bottom of two (matches to nothing), especially with the way Mitch played the last game, it was right … You know, that’s something we had to do,” said Hart. “And obviously, it’s a group decision that comes down to Thibs and myself.”
“Yeah, he wants to win,” said Captain of Knicks and Hart Pal for a long time Jalen Brunson. “This shows who he is – as a person, as a player, as a teammate. He does not care about anything individual. He just wants to win. He is a real will of a great teammate.”
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Thibodeau congratulated Hart for his desire to sacrifice what other players – perhaps a plot Other players – could see the status and prestige that accompany the start -up, looking for an advantage to help the team win.
“What I like about Josh is altruism,” said Thibodeau. “As, you are worried, because you don’t only have it impact, but you have an impact on other guys in the starting formation, so you have to make sure that everything is good. And then you also have an impact on the second unit in a different way, so you must then understand:” Ok, how can we put all this together where we can make it work? “”
The mixture of rotation extended far beyond the exchange of Robinson for Hart:
He also included small useful guards Delon Wright and Landry Shamet on the takeover of Cameron Payne, hoping that putting more size and a defensive sense on the ground could help slow an offense of the pacers who had hum. These bets were fruitful: Wright made several GOOD hustle playsShamet made a corner 3 and explained a needles To help the Knicks stay at the middle of their misfortunes in the first half, and both contributed to a defensive effort in the second half which saw New York limit the Pacers to only 42 points on the shooting of 14 for 38 (36.8%) in the third and fourth quarters.
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Hart also played an important role in this effort. He helped increase the communication and precision of New York switches and rotations, and offered a number of big games, including a pair of huge defensive rebounds in the last minute and a half to prevent Indiana from making a second chance to cut the advance of the Knicks:
Hart played the whole fourth quarter, finishing with 8 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 flight in 34 minutes of the bench. Robinson, for his part, finished with 6 points, 6 rebounds (3 offensive), 1 assist, 1 flight and 1 block in 29 minutes.
“(The programming switch) has really had an impact on one or the other guys from the point of view of the minutes,” said Thibodeau. “For me, when Mitch came out of the bench, he is a starter who comes out of the bench. When Josh comes out of the bench, he is a starter who comes out of the bench. Their minutes will be the same, and the two guys mix and correspond, the two guys are comfortable with the two units.”
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And because Hart is comfortable with the second unit, the sliding of the first five has never been uncomfortable in the first place.
“For me, it was not a difficult day,” said Hart. “It was funny, because everyone told me something, or the guys would send me in other teams and all that, and I said to myself:” Bruh, I don’t care. I don’t care if I start.
“You know, whoever won the championship five years ago, you can’t really-you have no idea who is beginners,” he continued. “You know that these guys have won. And they have this camaraderie and this life connection. No matter the number of points you score, no matter the number of minutes you play, no matter if you have started or not. It depends if you win. And at the end of the day, it is the most important thing for me.”
