Hart scored 26 points as the Knicks won Game 2 to take a 2-0 series lead over the Cavs.
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NEW YORK — Josh Hart’s jersey tasted like resentment.
A man who has done all of the work — hand placement, wide base, visualize, follow-through — felt betrayed in the moment that this all was meant for.
Midway through the first quarter of Thursday’s Game 2 Eastern Conference finals matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the New York Knicks’ forward stood alone, just him, a basketball and a target, like he has done a million times in his life. This, too, was by design, as the Cavaliers’ defense came into the series ignoring Hart, a streaky shooter surrounded by more fatal offensive threats, as if he were the little kid on the playground begging to play ball with the older boys.
Hart rose, the ball rotated perfectly leaving his fingertips, and then his shot bruised the rim. It was his third straight 3-point miss to start the game and eighth of the young series. Hart turned toward his bench. He stuffed his face with his jersey. He tried to squeeze the pulp out of the ball. It was yet another moment of vulnerability from someone who always wears his heart on his sleeve.
“Those first three … they felt good,” Hart said. “I was kind of frustrated with it because, obviously, I’ve been putting in the reps (with assistant coaches). I was frustrated at first. I was like, ‘Bro, this is not translating right now.’”
The way to alleviate self-resentment, though, is by giving yourself grace. Hart’s moment of frustration was short-lived. He gathered himself. He remained confident in the work. Then he drilled five of his next eight 3-pointers en route to a 26-point performance in the Knicks’ 109-93 victory that gave them a 2-0 series lead.
As Hart has gotten older, he’s learning to be nicer to himself. At his core, Hart is a perfectionist, which is ironic given that the beauty of his game is that it’s helter-skelter in all the best ways imaginable. He’s a competitor who makes something out of nothing, who sees the game in a way that makes some of his peers jealous.
When Hart is upset on the court, everyone can see it. His snarl is his trademark. Hart’s upper lip slants to the right, creating a crease that accentuates his cheekbone on that side of his face. His arms flail. His voice cuts through a raucous crowd. Usually, though, that outward frustration is rooted in how he views himself.
Hart knows how NBA defenses — the smart ones, at least — are going to guard him. He knows how important his 3-point shooting has been and will be to unlocking the Knicks’ offense. Every day, he prepares for such moments, seeking inside and outside help to refine his shot. Hart is also aware of how important his ballhandling and passing are to what New York does. Turnovers used to beat him up as much as missed jumpers, to the point he’d dwell on it like a bad date with a cute girl. He’d compound frustrations and let them linger, impacting one play and the next.
“One of the things I try to do is play with more joy and more grace,” Hart said. “I don’t really celebrate when I score or make a good pass. I kick myself, probably a little bit too much, when I miss shots or make turnovers. I think I started to learn to play the game and give myself more grace and not to try and be perfect. I’m happy with that.”
Hart isn’t for the analytical darlings. Over the last two years, media, fans and outsiders have come up with reasons why taking Hart out of the starting lineup could benefit New York. Five shooters on the floor, in theory, would send the Knicks’ already dynamic offense into another realm. Yet a lot of that wishing is based on aesthetics. The spacing may look good, it may lead to bigger offensive performances here and there, but it would also rid the starting lineup of someone willing and able to bring the starpower together, someone who can turn a good shot into a great shot with a pass, someone who just so happens to win every 50-50 ball or who can up the tempo for a group that can sometimes play at the pace of a Chet Baker song.
The Knicks had just five five-man lineups play 75 or more minutes together during the regular season. Hart was part of three of those groups, and none of those carried a negative net rating. The other two five-man lineups featured one of Miles McBride or Landry Shamet in Hart’s place alongside the other four starters. Both carried a negative net rating.
“My time with Andre Iguodala in Golden State helped a lot (understanding players like Hart),” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “They’re different players, but they’re similar players because Andre is edgy, too. Andre is a hell of a player. I mean, he’s a great player. He does so many little things that if you’re not careful, you won’t appreciate them. It’s the same with Josh. He does so many little things that don’t show up in this box score … starting with the versatility that he gives us defensively that you have to — and I mean, me — be careful not to dismiss it.
“On top of that, because he’s so impactful as a connector, I got to give him more leash than anyone else. I have to let him go be him and get out of his way. That’s hard sometimes as a coach because you’re looking at Xs and Os, you want everything to be perfect, you’re looking at the box score and looking at this … with Josh and with Andre, all that s— should be thrown out of the window because those guys are winners.”
With 3:57 left in the third quarter, Hart stood in the corner waiting for Jalen Brunson to pass him the ball. He was in his shooting stance, his hands out and knees bent. Confident. The ball hit Hart’s hands, and he turned to let another 3 fly. This time, though, Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley didn’t turn his back to Hart. He ran out and tried to contest the shot. The little kid on the playground got everyone’s attention. Bottoms.
Hart turned around and punched his chest as the Madison Square Garden crowd had transitioned from groans to elation when Hart was rising to shoot.
That tasted much sweeter.
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James L. Edwards III is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the New York Knicks. Previously, he covered the Detroit Pistons at The Athletic for seven seasons and, before that, was a reporter for the Lansing State Journal, where he covered Michigan State and high school sports. Follow James on X @JLEdwardsIII
