Knicks' Josh Hart gritty during games, but practice... we ain't talking about that
Josh Hart of the Knicks scores during a preseason game at Madison Square Garden against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Oct. 14, 2023. Credit: Errol Anderson
GREENBURGH — With a week from the disappointing finish to the preseason schedule, an embarrassing one-side loss to the Wizards at Madison Square Garden, to the regular season opener against Boston Wednesday, Friday was just the kind of recovery that a coach like Tom Thibodeau cherishes — uninterrupted time on the practice floor to get on track for the real thing.
Not everyone takes the same tact as the head coach though. In a game, Josh Hart is exactly what Thibodeau wants — a player who gives everything he has every minute he’s out there. Whether it's battling with players nearly a foot taller than him for rebounds or diving into the stands just seconds after he entered the game against the Wizards, Hart is willing to come out bruised, battered and out of breath. But practice?
“You should ask Tom Thibodeau about my practice habits,” Hart said with a smile. “It’s tough. Practice for me is more about the execution aspect, getting shots up, because how I play, I can’t — I can’t do that every day for what? 250 days? 280 days? I can’t do that. I’d love to but I just can’t. So sometimes, practice — it’s practice.”
That doesn’t quite fall in line with Thibodeau’s beliefs.
“Me and Thibs, we’ve got an understanding,” Hart said, then referring to game time added, "7:30, baby, 7:30.”
While there may be a grudging agreement on that, Thibodeau will likely get his way right now. The Knicks, with expectations raised this season, did not show flashes of the team they hope to be in the exhibition games. The defense surrendered 78 points in the first half Tuesday in Boston and then gave up 131 points to the Wizards on Wednesday.
“Obviously, we’re disappointed with the way we played in the last game,” Thibodeau said. “But what would follow is determination. So just come back, put everything you have in the next day. I thought we practiced really well today.”
For Thibodeau, that “today” is the important thing. He didn’t want the team thinking about last year or the last game, and didn’t want them to worry about the season opener or the tough early schedule that follows.
“I think that’s important for us is to understand, we can’t ease into it,” he said. “We have to be ready right from the start but not to look ahead, not to look at all seven games or 10 games or the first couple months. I just want them locked into today and getting ready for Boston. And then when that game is gone, study what happened, make corrections and get ready for the next game.
“It’s easy in this league to lose sight, to get distracted. You start looking ahead and then you miss what’s in front of you and I don’t want them looking behind either. It’s like, this is what we’re locked into right now, and you have to build that habit.”
Notes & quotes: Thibodeau said the entire team practiced on Friday, including Immanuel Quickley who sat out both Tuesday and Wednesday. Quickley has a deadline looming Monday for a possible contract extension, but both he and Thibodeau insisted that would not change his approach to playing.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
