Josh Hart has been a triple-double threat for the Knicks lately, with six triple-doubles in eight weeks since his first career game on January 30th.
His most recent smorgasbord of stats came in Monday’s blowout win over the Pistons, where he had 11 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists in 39 minutes.
Still, the indispensable winger has struggled with 3-point shooting for much of the season, missing 2 of 3 long-range shots on Monday night and going 3-of-31 in his past eight games. ing.
And one of Hart’s former NBA teammates has vowed to help him fix his outside shot during the offseason.
This season. USA Today Sports
“We’re going to work on filming this summer. We’re already committed to each other,” JJ Redick, who was Hurts’ teammate in New Orleans from 2019 to 2021, said this week. He spoke on the podcast “The Old Man and the Three.”
“Obviously me and JJ are close. We talk all the time,” Hart said after the game. “At some point in the summer, we’re going to go to the Hamptons. Shoot, let’s go to the gym with him. Let’s drink wine with him. He can bring all the wine. He Because you’re rich. And just have fun.”
Hart played 25 games with the Knicks last season after being traded to the Trail Blazers in February, shooting an impressive 51.9 percent from long range.
But his efficiency this year has dropped by more than 20 points, to 30.4 percent (72 of 237 hits) through his first 70 hits of the season.
Still, Tom Thibodeau often praises the 29-year-old Hart as one of the team’s most valuable players.
The seven-year NBA veteran is averaging 12.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 40.9 minutes in 24 consecutive starts since Julius Randle and OG Anunoby first left the lineup in late January, and is averaging 12.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 40.9 minutes per game on Monday. It was his 25th consecutive game.
Redick, who had a career shooting percentage of .415 in 15 NBA seasons, also marveled at his 6-foot-4 former teammate’s incredible rebounding acumen.
“I’ve seen Josh Hart at this size, athletic but not super athletic, strong and fast but not super strong or super fast, but he rebounds out of the box like any other guard.” said Reddick, currently a game and studio analyst for ESPN/ABC. “He goes after the basketball, rebounds in traffic, takes long rebounds. He ends up with a basketball that has no use for him.
“And I think the important thing here is that the Knicks have taken on this identity. They’re embracing this gritty culture — and of course that starts with Thibs and J.B. [Jalen Brunson] — but they now have a group with a real identity. And I don’t think anyone on this team exemplifies that more than Josh Hart. ”
Redick also helped guard Quentin Grimes with his outside shot last summer after being traded.
But Grimes, who missed Monday’s game with a knee injury, has played in 51 games with the Knicks and Pistons this season, hitting a career-worst 3-point shooting percentage of .338.
