Нью-Йорк Никс баг Атланта Хоуксын эсрэг плей-оффын эхний шатанд 2-1 харьцаатайгаар цувралыг тэргүүлж байгаа бөгөөд энэхүү амжилтад Жош Харт хамгийн чухал үүрэг гүйцэтгэж байна. Том Тибодоог явсны дараа багийн удирдлагыг авсан шинэ ахлах дасгалжуулагч Майк Брауны системд Харт багийн “зүрх сэтгэл” нь болон төлөвшжээ.
Атланта Хоуксийн эсрэг болсон сүүлийн тоглолтод Харт 40 минут талбай дээр ажиллаж, гарааны тоглогчдоос хамгийн өндөр үр ашигтай тоглолтыг үзүүлэв. Тэрбээр Атлантагийн довтолгооны гол цөм болох Жейлен Жонсон болон туршлагатай СиЖей МакКоллумыг амжилттай хязгаарлаж байна. Ялангуяа МакКоллумыг хоёрдугаар хагаст хамгаалалтаараа “залгиж”, шидэлтийн хувийг нь эрс бууруулсан нь ялалтын гол хүчин зүйл боллоо.
Нью-Йорк баг Микал Бриджесийг багтаа нэгтгэхийн тулд драфтын таван ч нэгдүгээр тойргийн эрхээ золиосолсон ч одоогоор талбай дээрх бодит нөлөөгөөрөө Жош Харт илүү үр дүнтэй байгааг шинжээчид онцолж байна. Тэрбээр самбараас бөмбөг авалтад хамгаалагч хүн гэхэд гайхалтай идэвхтэй оролцож, багийнхаа довтолгооны боломжийг нэмэгдүүлсээр байна. Хартын энэ улирлын амжилт нь түүний амьдралын хэв маяг, хооллолтын дэглэмдээ гаргасан эрс өөрчлөлттэй шууд холбоотой аж.
Гэсэн хэдий ч “Никс” энэ цувралд давамгайлж байгаа ч бусад тоглогчид Хартын энэхүү эрч хүчийг дэмжихгүй бол улирал нь төсөөлснөөс эрт дуусах эрсдэлтэй байна. Тэрбээр ганцаараа хамгаалалтыг үүрч байгаа тул багийн нэгдмэл ажиллагаа дараагийн тоглолтуудад шийдвэрлэх үүрэг гүйцэтгэх юм.
Дэлгэрэнгүй эх сурвалжийг харах
Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
ATLANTA — Maybe Tom Thibodeau was right. In fact, maybe he played Josh Hart too few minutes.
There’s too much irony that, in a post-Thibodeau era, New York still needs an abundance of Hart — both literally and figuratively — to give itself a chance. The former Knicks head coach was often ridiculed for how often he played his starters, which included Hart, who was second in the NBA in minutes played last season and 11th the year before that. Many didn’t understand why the ex-head coach, fired last summer, was so beholden to Hart. Many wished he would be taken out of the starting lineup for someone else.
With the Knicks backed into a corner following a Game 3 loss to the Atlanta Hawks, putting them down 2-1 in the best-of-seven series, it should make sense now.
Hart has been New York’s most important player through three playoff games. Full stop. If it weren’t for him, the Knicks might be facing a 3-0 deficit and really be on the doorstep of bowing out embarrassingly in a season the owner considers to be NBA Finals or bust.
Hart has largely neutralized a likely All-NBA forward in Jalen Johnson. And, in desperate times, new head coach Mike Brown put Hart on CJ McCollum, New York’s newest villain and connoisseur of buckets this series, in the second half of Thursday’s loss. The red-hot McCollum went into halftime with 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting. When Hart shifted over to him, McCollum didn’t make a shot in the third quarter. Hart has been the only one to make McCollum look mortal. He’s made me question having Johnson on my All-NBA ballot.
The Knicks traded five first-round picks for Mikal Bridges to do what Hart has been doing, which is being a physical, destructive point-of-attack defender. Bridges got benched for all but four minutes in the second half Thursday for Miles McBride, who is just months removed from hernia surgery. The Knicks found something with that lineup (McBride, Jalen Brunson, Hart, OG Anunoby, Karl-Anthony Towns) that, surely, Brown will explore going forward. Yet, any possible change can’t include Hart.
It’s Hart who is providing the bully-ball the Knicks need. He needs more teammates to follow suit. If they don’t, this season will be over soon. Hart played 40 minutes in the Game 3 loss and was one of just three starters with a positive plus-minus. In the Game 2 loss, Hart played 35 minutes and had the highest plus-minus on the team.
The Knicks, if they want to avoid embarrassment, need even more Josh Hart.
“Josh brings a lot of physicality to the table,” Brown said. “He’s got great hands, great feet and great instincts. He really gets into the basketball. It’s hard to compare others to him because what he does is unique and how he does it is unique.”
Brown won’t say it, and neither will Hart, but I will: The Knicks haven’t looked the same when Hart is off the floor compared to when he is on.
“I got trust in all these guys,” Hart told The Athletic. “Obviously, offensively, today wasn’t my best game, so that was tough. But I’m trying to take the challenge of guarding Jalen Johnson, CJ (McCollum) and making it tough on them.”
The Hawks’ best two players, McCollum and Johnson, can get way too comfortable with the ball in their hands when not guarded by Hart. He’s the one player blowing up ball screens so that Atlanta can’t get the switches it desires. Atlanta’s offense looks mucked up when Hart is at the head of the snake. When it’s anyone else, the Hawks have been able to find a way more often than not.
Oh, and by the way, Hart is averaging 12 rebounds per game in this series, among the league leaders in these playoffs. The Hawks have gone stints attacking the offensive glass and creating multiple possessions. Hart is one of the few making sure that Atlanta’s work in that department isn’t more detrimental to New York.
There was a point this season when Hart came off the bench. He started the season that way before Brown and his staff quickly realized what his predecessor knew all along: Hart brings necessary intangibles to the starting group.
Hart is 31 years old with a lot of miles on him. When the Knicks made the trades for Bridges and Anunoby, who has been his usual good self off the ball as a defender in this series, they didn’t expect that Hart would need to take on such a big role on the defensive end. Yet, here we are in the playoffs, and Hart has to neutralize the best of the Hawks.
Hart told The Athletic that, as his duties ramped up this season, he started making changes to his lifestyle. Believe it or not, he’s eating less candy. He got a nutritionist a few months back as his minutes increased. Hart said he began eating more vegan and vegetarian meals to prepare for the final stretch of the season. It’s all paying off.
Still, despite what Hart is doing, New York is vulnerable. The franchise with sky-high expectations is one more loss away from its entire season flashing before its eyes. The Knicks can’t leave Atlanta without a win on Saturday in Game 4. There have been around 300 instances of teams being down 3-1 in NBA playoff history, and only 13 of those teams have come back to win a series.
Hart might have to strap up his boots and play 48 minutes in every game from here on out. The Knicks are going to need him to slide between McCollum and Johnson defensively. They’re going to need him to keep winning the 50-50 balls and grabbing rebounds.
Most importantly, though, New York is going to need others to follow suit. The season depends on it.
