If you’re looking at the Knicks box score from Sunday, Jalen Brunson’s line (47 points, 8 assists, 0 turnovers) probably catches your eye. Maybe Mikal Bridges’ three-point shooting (6-for-7) gets your attention.
What about Josh Hart?
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Hart’s numbers (13 points, 10 rebounds and five assists against Miami) are solid. But they aren’t spectacular.
Judging Hart’s impact by a box score, though, is a mistake.
“His impact, you can’t really tell from the stat sheet,” Brunson says. “But by the eye test, everyone knows that he’s a competitor. He brings a winning style of basketball to this team.”
The Knicks have done a lot of winning since they traded for Hart in 2023.
In fact, they are 137-89 in the regular season with Hart in the lineup — that includes a 10-2 record this season when Hart is in there alongside Brunson, Bridges, and Karl-Anthony Towns.
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“I think he does a great job pushing the pace, and he presents a different… obstacle for the opponents to have to deal with,” Towns said after the Knicks’ win over Miami. “I think that he’s done a great job of utilizing his game, what he does best, and maximizing our team’s chance to win.”
Entering Sunday’s game against the Heat, New York had the No. 2 net rating in the NBA since Nov. 24, when Hart moved into the starting lineup. And they have a net rating of +16.1 with Hart on the floor since the lineup change.
They rank fourth in the NBA in rebounding percentage during that span.
“He’s a guy that just does everything well. If you’re not careful, you may look at it and say, ‘Well, he can’t really do (this).’ Nah, nah, he does everything well,” Mike Brown said. “He does a couple things at an elite level, and when you have a guy like that who’s pretty selfless, it can bode well to connecting the group, no matter who he’s on the floor with.”
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Brown moved Hart into the starting group in late November after listening to feedback from his staff.
Credit Brown for keeping an open mind. Hart’s ability to push the ball in transition has changed the Knicks.
“Josh gets in (and) he’s probably one of the fastest with the ball; he’s going to the rim, or he’s driving in the paint, trying to find guys,” Bridges says. “I think his ability to get in transition and push and create opens up a lot.”
Hart’s individual numbers as a starter are strong. He’s averaging 15 points, 9.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists while shooting 52.6 percent from the floor and 40.7 on threes. And the Knicks have done a lot of winning with Hart in the starting lineup.
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“He’s our Draymond Green,” one Knick staffer said recently.
The comparison is not far off.
In 2015-16, Green averaged 14.2 points, 9.5 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game prior to the All-Star break. The Warriors were 48-3 with Green in the lineup at the time. Opposing coaches recognized Green’s value by voting him to the Western Conference All-Star team. He joined teammates Steph Curry and Klay Thompson in the game.
If you looked at Green’s individual numbers that season, you wouldn’t think he’d make an All-Star team.
Green’s All-Star bid was based on team success, not individual stats.
Just like Green in 2015-16, Hart is having a huge impact on his team’s success. Opposing coaches recognize his value.
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“Right now, he’d definitely get consideration,” one opposing coach said of Hart and an All-Star bid. The coach cited Hart’s ‘impact on’ New York’s record and said he’s ‘playing like’ an All-Star
It sounds like Hart will have a strong case for an All-Star spot if he continues to produce and the Knicks continue to win.
Perfect night
Brunson had an MSG career-high 47 points against Miami. But he was pleased with another stat from Sunday’s win: zero. Brunson had eight assists and no turnovers against the Heat. Brunson had nine assists and zero turnovers in a loss to Philadelphia on Friday. No turnovers in his past 75 minutes on the floor.
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“That means a lot,” Brunson said late Sunday. “…. Obviously, no turnovers is what I strive for. Obviously, sometimes when you’re aggressive, you make aggressive mistakes. I can live with (the aggressive mistakes), the passive mistakes, I can’t live with. But yeah, just trying to hold the ball as much as I can and not give it to the other team.”
