Josh Hart changes everything for the Knicks
Josh Hart has made a huge impact for the Knicks throughout the team's 2026 playoff run. (via The Dunker Spot)
Video Transcript
You brought up Josh Hart and how huge he was in that Game 2.
This is why he is such a bellwether in this series, and it's just kinda like the eternal X factor when we have these playoff conversations, involving the New York Knicks.
When he is not knocking down shots, the Cavs are able to have Jarrett Allen or Evan Mobley on Josh Hart.
You un- you unleash a level of cross-matching.
We muck up the paint.
We're being physical and things with your off-ball movement.
You are in a box.
And this is what we saw towards the end of Game 1.
Mike Brown says, "Okay, let's bring in Landry Shamet then.
Do y'all still wanna cross-match in the same way?"
The answer was largely yes, but then Jalen Brunson goes on the heater, and, like, you couldn't really reconfigure de- your defensive matchups in a way because of how they spaced you out.
You get to Game 2, same thing.
Josh Hart not making shots early.
We can roam.
This feels kinda muggy.
Josh Hart starts making the shots, and it's like, "Oh, what do we do?"
You get to some of these single big lineups in this game while Josh Hart's making shots.
It's like, well, do we want to put a wing on him now or do we wanna keep a big on Josh Hart?
But then you're looking at Donovan Mitchell or James Harden or someone else on Karl-Anthony Towns, and it's just like, well, what do we do with this?
And to your earlier point, 0.57 points per possession on trips featuring a cat drive in Game 1, 1.4 in Game 2.
That's not tenable for the Cleveland Cavaliers either
