‘Not included’ Hart still trying to find his rhythm
Before a breakthrough game Tuesday, Josh Hart didn’t back down from his “not included” comment and seemed to disagree with Tom Thibodeau about whether his offensive role diminished.
The Knicks’ forward, who has been struggling with his shot to start the season, agreed that he’d been passing up open looks but explained it’s because he rarely handles the ball in Thibodeau’s system.
In other words, Hart isn’t comfortable being stationary on the perimeter waiting for a kickout pass.
“I’m a rhythm player. So sometimes if I don’t touch the ball for four or five minutes running up and down the floor, just catch-and-shoot, I might as well be playing with a football,” Hart said. “I feel like I have no feel for [the ball]. There are definitely times I [pass up shots] because I’m not in the rhythm. I don’t like the feel of it.”
Hart, speaking in the locker room Tuesday before tipoff, later clarified that he’s not disgruntled — “tweet that,” he said. He also busted out with a season-high 17 points on a highly efficient 7-for-10 shooting in a lopsided victory over the Hornets.
“I was going and trying to get into the mix early and trying to get back to how I normally play,” he said.
One game could be a building block but there seems to be a disconnect. Hart had said his role was different last season “when I would bring up the ball and do stuff like that,” which directly contradicted what Thibodeau said in his pregame press conference just minutes earlier.
“There really hasn’t been a change,” the coach said. “To be honest, his usage is up. He’s handling the ball more. The way he’s being used is not any different than last year. He’s pushing the ball up in transition. He hasn’t shot the three as well as he did last year. But he’s open, he can’t hesitate. He’s got to shoot it.”
Hart, who entered Tuesday’s game shooting just 28.6 percent on treys, responded sarcastically to Thibodeau’s rebuttal with, “Yeah, we’ll go with that.”
The 28-year-old acknowledged that he must adjust to the game plan, rather than vice versa.
“I might have to change my style of play a little bit,” Hart said. “And be more of a catch-andshoot kind of guy. It really depends on what the team needs and if that’s what my role and my job is going to be this year, that’s what I have to do. I have to make the most of this situation and make the most of the minutes Thibs gives me.”