When the New York Knicks (hereinafter referred to as New York) made it to the second round of the playoffs, the spotlight was on Jaylen Brunson, RJ Barrett and Julius Randle. However, there was a player who instilled victory DNA into New York as much as they did. He is Josh Hart.
New York, to which Hart belongs, defeated the fourth seed, the Cleveland Cavaliers, with a series score of 4-1 on the 27th and advanced to the stage of the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. The opponent is the Miami Heat, who upset the series score 4-1 against the 1st seed, Milwaukee.
New York’s prospects were not bright last year’s off-season and early season. New York, which was betting life and death on Donovan Mitchell, started the 2022-23 season with only Jalen Brunson in place because they didn’t have a plan B in place. Experts predicted that New York could barely match the .500 odds, and New York recorded 27-29 (0.482) right before the trade deadline.
In response, New York threw the game ahead of the trade deadline. They received hearts in exchange for Cam Reddish, whom they brought with the first-round pick. In the process, New York handed over a first-round pick to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Those who watched New York at the time criticized him for burning two cards in the first round. However, Hart quelled criticism as a skill.
Since joining New York, Hart has raised his existing strengths of rebounding and 3-point shooting success rate to the extreme. In addition, he showed off the secondary reading he learned through New Orleans and Portland. Hart’s versatility made him a great fit to lead the bench lineup and lead New York to a rebound.
Hart played 25 regular season games as a member of New York in the 22-23 season, leading the team to 17 wins and 8 losses (0.680). He averaged 10.2 points, 7 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.4 steals and +7.6 points per game in 30 minutes per game.
At the same time, Hart boasted a highly sensitive shooting sense with a field goal success rate of 58.6% (6.3 attempts) and a three-point success rate of 51.9% (2.1 attempts). Above all, through the long-term pair-footed lay-up, he set an amazing record of 78.8% of field shooting success rate in the restricted area (right under the goal post). 크크크벳
Hart’s performance continued in the playoffs. Hart, who played an active role as a sixth man throughout the regular season, was included in the starting list three times in important stages.
Hart played in five playoff games, playing an average of 35 minutes, and scored 11.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.2 steals. It was unbelievable that he was on the playoff stage for the first time, so he showed great performance.
Meanwhile, New York faces Miami in the second round of the playoffs, where Jimmy Butler holds out. New York and Miami, famous for their classic matches, are looking forward to what kind of match they will show.
