Josh Hart Says What’s Hurting Knicks in Early-Season Slump

On Friday night, the New York Knicks fell to the Indiana Pacers 106-104. It now moves the Knicks' record to 6-6, and after a strong rebound from their 0-3 start, they're back to being .500 for the season. 

After the game, guard Josh Hart spoke to the media and talked about why the Knicks have yet to hit their stride this season and why players like Mikal Bridges may not have gotten off to the start they wanted. 

“There’s less chances at the rim,” Hart said. “I think it also affects Mikal and OG. … [Coach Mike Brown] says Mikal is the best runner in the league. So if you have the best runner in the league and you’re not running, you’re wasting one of his talents."

"If we play faster, we’ll be able to do that. Sometimes OG has smaller guards defending him, so if we run he can be able to seal at the rim, be able to get easy points at the rim, which also can help our rim finishing.”

Last season, part of the Knicks' identity was being able to turn defense into offense and get out in transition often. It was what worked in the playoffs, specifically. New York was able to go on runs and they looked almost impossible to stop. 

Losing that element makes things harder for some players, as Josh Hart alluded to. Mikal Bridges is off to a slow start individually, averaging just 6.9 points per game, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists. 

Against the Pacers, he played better than he had in most games at the start of the year. He finished with 18 points on 8-12 shooting from the field. Moving forward, this coaching staff has to figure out ways to get him going offensively, because last season, he had moments where he was one of the best weapons on this team. 

In the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers, he shot nearly 70 percent from the field in the series. He has the ability to get out of the slump, and it's only a matter of time before he does. 

The Knicks have not been perfect this season, but they have shown flashes of being the same team as last summer. It may be too early to count out the Knicks as a team to win the Eastern Conference this season, but they have things this coaching staff has to figure out to put all their players in position to succeed.