With just over three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter of Game 5, Josh Hart contested a driving floater from Cade Cunningham, whom he collided with in mid-air before falling hard on his extended left arm. Hart remained on the ground in pain while New York was forced to take a timeout. After heading to the locker room, Hart ultimately returned to the game, which the Knicks lost 106-103.
The injury scare served as a reminder that a freak accident can occur at any point, especially when the intensity and physicality are at the heightened level they have been at in this series. It also revealed a truth about Hart that Knicks fans won't want to hear.
Just Hart's body is hurting
Following the loss, Hart was asked about the fall and which wrist specifically was bothering him. He replied by telling the reporter that his whole body was bothering him.
Perhaps that shouldn't come as a surprise to fans. Hart is one of the Knicks' iron men; he was second in the league in minutes played per game in the regular season, 37.6, and is averaging about the same (37.7) in the playoffs. The wear and tear of all of those minutes, all of those falls, collisions, and dives for loose balls, are bound to result in bumps and bruises.
The Knicks need Hart's body to hold up
Hart, poetically, is the Knicks' heart in many ways. The Knicks' offense was lethargic out of the gate in Game 5. With just under two minutes to play in the first quarter, they had only scored 14 points. To the Pistons' credit, they were making life difficult for the Knicks on that end of the floor. In the same breath, the Knicks, specifically their best two offensive players, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, were not doing enough to make things equally difficult for Detroit.
OG Anunoby's world-class defensive effort had kept the Knicks afloat up until that point, including a sensational chase-down block on Ron Holland. Immediately following the block, Hart can be seen gesturing to his teammates. Admittedly, this is speculation, but he appears to be encouraging them to pick up the pace.
On their very next offensive possession, Hart strategically leaks and catches the Pistons by surprise for an easy bucket. In the following play, he draws an offensive foul on Cade Cunningham. Seconds later, he contests a rebound and gets the Knicks another possession on offense.
This is what Hart does. He wins games in the margins. He makes a million small plays, some of which don't show up in the stat sheet. Hart's play is also infectious. When his effort rises, his teammates' does too. As time wound down in the quarter, Brunson stripped the ball from Dennis Schroder, leading to a fast break score for Hart. The Knicks would end the quarter leading by one.
It isn't always the prettiest, but in a series where the Knicks haven't been playing much pretty basketball, winning small plays like Hart does could be the difference between booking a ticket to the second round or going home.