Josh Hart's workload increased dramatically when Julius Randle and OG Anunoby were sidelined after the New York Knicks win over the Heat on Jan. 27. In the 19 games he's played since then, he's averaged 40.7 minutes per contest.
Hart has been vocal about the high minutes he's been playing. After the Knicks traded for Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks on Feb. 8, he hilariously expressed his enthusiasm on X about having two new teammates in the rotation. When the MSG crowd was chanting for Tom Thibodeau to put Taj Gibson in the game, Hart said he was chanting it too because he was so tired.
If there's one thing about Hart, it's that he will complain, but doing so won't keep him from doing whatever's asked of him. He has a winner's mentality, and it's part of why he fits seamlessly in New York.
Speaking of players who have fit seamlessly with the Knicks, OG Anunoby returned to the lineup on Tuesday after missing the past 18 games with an elbow injury. Hart was happy about that, mainly because it meant he wouldn't have to spend so much time on the floor. Anunoby ended Hart's nine-game streak of playing at least 40+ minutes. He finished with 39 minutes.
"There we go. I told you, once OG's back man, minutes going down baby!"
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) March 13, 2024
–– Josh Hart on playing 39 minutes instead of 40 pic.twitter.com/1eZVEFepFD
Josh Hart celebrates snapping 40 minute streak in Knicks win over Sixers
In those 39 minutes, Hart recorded 20 points, 19 rebounds, and 10 assists. It marked his fourth career triple-double, all of which have come in the past few months. Again, he will complain about his minutes, but he will go out there and give it all he's got.
Hart even complained about Thibodeau not letting him stay in the game until he reached 20 rebounds, which would've been a career-high.
Josh Hart on if he wanted to stay in the game to get 20 rebounds: "That would be nice, but Thomas Thibodeau wanted to take me out of the game. Everyone complained about me playing 40 minutes. I could have gotten my 20-20 game, but he takes me out. So, appreciate it Thomas."
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) March 13, 2024
Josh Hart on Tom Thibodeau leaving his starters out there at the ends of blowouts (even though he didn't do that tonight): "Thibs has some trauma he has to deal with."
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) March 13, 2024
What did Thibodeau have to say about that?
Thibodeau on if Josh Hart was giving him grief about pulling him when he was one short of 20 rebounds: "He's gonna give me grief about something. It goes in one ear, out the other." Went on to talk about how all Hart cares about is winning.
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) March 13, 2024
Make up your mind, Josh! On second thought, you can say what you want if you're going to keep playing the way you have been.