Josh Hart may be best known for his Swiss Army Knife skill set and willingness to hustle and bustle on the hardwood, but heading into the 2026 NBA Playoffs, it seems as if the New York Knicks are looking for him to be more of a force to be reckoned with in the perimeter scoring department.
During a recent media session, when discussing the veteran's career-best shooting campaign, coach Mike Brown said, "That's not by accident," stressing that he's put in the work behind the scenes to bring his efficiency up to its current 41.3 percent clip.
The first-year headman would continue on to note how, despite his success from beyond the arc, teams have regularly found themselves daring him to shoot. Should this trend continue on into the playoffs, Brown is publicly calling for Hart to "let it fly, 'cause we're with you!"
The Knicks' success rate has only been positively impacted by the 31-year-old's stellar production from downtown, as they hold a ridiculous 22-7 record when Hart's shooting 40.0 percent or better on his three-point attempts. Meanwhile, when he's shooting below 30.0 percent from deep, New York is a far-less menacing 16-12.
With this in mind, coupled with the fact that he's knocking down 43.5 percent of his wide-open looks from deep, it should come as no surprise that coach Brown is giving Hart the ultimate green light heading into Saturday's quarterfinals opener versus the Hawks.
Knicks feel ready for a deep and prosperous playoff run
It may have taken them a full 82 games to get there, but these Knicks feel fully prepared to run the postseason gauntlet and pursue their first NBA Finals berth of the 21 century.
At least, that's the narrative coach Brown is currently peddling, as he recently went on record saying that while he wishes the club could have worked through any and all on-court issues "a little sooner" than they ultimately did, with Game 1 rapidly approaching, he believes New York feels "pretty good where we are offensively and defensively" and that, more important than anything, "We feel connected."
"I feel like everybody on the team has sacrificed in one way, shape, or form. You need that from your group in order to have some success. Our guys compete. And, like I said, at this point in the season, I feel like the guys really believe. Not just in what we’re trying to do, but in each other," Brown said.
Following last year's Eastern Conference Finals run, as well as James Dolan's championship-round-or-bust mandate made back in January, the stakes for this Knicks team haven't been as high as they currently are in roughly 30 years.
Fortunately, it appears this ball club is storming into the playoffs with both confidence and momentum on their side.
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