Josh Hart became a fan favorite in New York by doing all of the dirty work, playing massive minutes, snagging clutch rebounds, and knowing his role. However, as the Knicks' championship window opens, what his role is will have to change, mainly by getting diminished, if the Knicks want to secure the title that they believe they are ready to compete for.
You would be hard pressed to find a bigger Josh Hart fan than Tom Thibodeau. That became obvious through the words of affirmation Thibodeau would share in pressers, how much he valued rebounding, arguably Hart's greatest skill for his size, and how many minutes he would play him. In fact, over the last two seasons, only three players have logged more minutes than Hart.
With the Knicks moving on from Thibodeau, whoever takes the reins next will need to have a better understanding of Hart's limitations as a player and the impact that they can have on entire lineups.
Josh Hart: The Good
To be completely clear, I think Josh Hart is an exceptional basketball player (duh, he's in the NBA) who does a million things that impact winning.
As I alluded to above, one of the reasons Thibodeau valued Hart so much was his rebounding prowess. Last season, he pulled in 737 of them, 280 more than any player under 6 feet and 7 inches tall. To make you understand how that is even crazier than it sounds, Josh Hart himself is only 6 feet and 4 inches tall.
It isn't just the rebounding, but the offensive rebounding and impact that it had on their scoring. Per tracking data, Josh Hart's offensive rebounds produced 1.33 points per possession for the Knicks. In the playoffs, it produced 1.45 points per possession! Those extra possessions are often the difference between winning and losing a game.
Then there are the countless extra effort plays, sprinting back on defense, diving for a loose ball, fans have seen it over and over again. That stuff is contagious, and it matters.
Josh Hart: The Bad
While all of the above is exceptionally valuable to a team, there are skills that Hart lacks that can destroy an offense, especially when he plays as many minutes as he does. The Knicks are currently built with a roster revolving around Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Those players are the centers of New York's solar system. Both of them, as is the case with most players, play better in space. Josh Hart actively hurts the Knicks' spacing. While he has shown a knack for hitting threes in the playoffs, he doesn't take enough of them for the defense to care.
For the defenders, it is still the wiser option to leave Hart on an island and double one of their bigger threats. That is how he will always be played. On top of that, he is not a good enough cutter or off-ball screener to make a real difference on that side of the ball. Far too often, he is instead left in the corner while the rest of the team struggles to generate a good look.
Hart IS a great player and still brings value to the Knicks. But whoever the new coach is cannot view him as a 40 minute per night player if the Knicks are going to seriously try to maximise this roster and compete for a title.