Knicks' Josh Hart Speaks on Sixers' Defensive Approach Against Him

Knicks standout Josh Hart addressed the Sixers' defensive approach.

On Saturday evening, the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks kicked off their opening-round playoff series. Jalen Brunson and company would end up striking first, primarily thanks to the play of their supporting cast.

Heading into this matchup, Josh Hart was seen as someone who could be an X-factor for New York. This proved to be true in Game 1 in a multitude of ways. Along with grabbing 13 rebounds, the veteran forward knocked down four threes en route to scoring 22 points.

Hart is known as a do-it-all player on the floor, but three-point shooting is one of the weaker areas of his game. Knowing this, Nick Nurse’ defensive scheme was to give him space in order to commit more attention to Brunson when he had the ball. Hart expected this heading into the series, and ended up making the Sixers pay.

After the game, Hart touched on the Sixers, daring him to be an outside threat. He put in extra work leading up to the playoffs to be prepared for a moment like this.

“That’s something I knew I really had to focus on,” Hart said postgame. “I knew it was going to be that way in terms of just open shots, and fortunately, I was able to knock them down.”

During the regular season, Hart shot just 31% from beyond on the arc on three attempts per game. Following his strong outing in Game 1, Nick Nurse has some decisions to make regarding how they defend Hart.

These teams will be back in action on Monday night for Game 2, with tip-off being scheduled for 7:30 pm.