Josh Hart has a unique take on potentially being defended by Spurs unicorn Victor Wembanyama.
“That’s the only unanimous Defensive Player of the Year, so that’s a pretty good sign for me, right?” Hart said Sunday after practice. “That means I’m a pretty good basketball player.”
Hart was somewhat joking, knowing if the Spurs do in fact put the 7-foot-4 Wembanyama on him, the intent is to allow the big man to roam, cut off the paint and protect the rim.
It’s up to Hart to make them pay from beyond the arc.
Other playoff opponents have defended him in a similar fashion, and during the regular season the Spurs used Wembanyama on Hart for large stretches too.
Josh Hart attempts a shot during the Knicks’ May 21 game against the Cavaliers. Charles Wenzelberg“For me, it’s shoot the ball with confidence. Or be quick to make other plays — dribble handoff, stuff like that,” Hart said. “If he’s down the floor, that’s my [job] to get [Jalen Brunson] open looks, [Mikal Bridges] open looks, [Karl-Anthony Towns] open looks. It’s not different in terms of anything I’ve seen before. I’m comfortable making those plays.”
It has been a strong postseason for the gritty Hart.
He is averaging 11.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.8 steals in 33 minutes.
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His 3-point shot has been inconsistent, Hart shooting it at a 30.3 percent clip on 4.7 attempts.
But he has been better of late.
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In the last five games, he is 13-for-32 from distance.
“Any time a team does that, like Cleveland — Cleveland put their big on Josh and Josh won us a game doing it,” coach Mike Brown said. “I’ll tell you Josh works very, very hard on his shooting and playmaking because he knows that he gets guarded by centers, and my message to Josh is, ‘Let it fly, let it fly, let it fly,’ because we believe in it.
Victor Wembanyama is pictured during the Spurs’ March 1 game against the Knicks. Jason Szenes for the NY Post“So we know that they’re probably going to come in and put their center on Josh, and if Wemby’s down the floor and that ball gets swung to Josh, first of all, he’s a great decision-maker. But secondly, if he’s open, his feet are set, we want him to let that thing fly.”
