Hart's shooting has given Mike Brown faith.
The New York Knicks wrapped up the regular season at 53-29 and locked in the No. 3 seed in the East, setting up a first-round matchup with the Atlanta Hawks that begins Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.
Atlanta comes in as the No. 6 seed at 46-36 after climbing out of the play-in picture late in the year, and the two teams met on April 6 in a 108-105 Knicks win that showed how tight this series could get.
Heading into Game 1, head coach Mike Brown used Wednesday's practice to send a direct message to one of his most important role players.
What he said offers a real window into how New York plans to handle a Hawks defense that will almost certainly load up on Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Brown Gives Hart the Green Light
Speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Brown left no doubt about where he stands on Josh Hart.
"Teams won't guard him. When they don't, we want him to let it fly. He's won games for us with his shooting. It's no different going into the playoffs. If a team decides not to guard him, Josh let it fly, 'cause we're with you."
That public backing from a first-year head coach matters, and Brown isn't asking Hart to force anything or change who he is.
He's pushing him to take the open looks he has sometimes passed up this season, and that small shift can open up driving lanes for Brunson and clean post touches for Towns when Atlanta's defense has to respect Hart on the perimeter.
Having the head coach say it out loud, with teammates in the room, takes the hesitation out of it.
A Career Shooting Season
The reason Brown is so comfortable turning Hart loose is that he's been shooting the ball better than at any point in his career.
Hart is hitting 40.4 percent from three this season, a huge jump from his career mark of 34.8 percent from deep.
That leap at age 31 doesn't happen very often, and it completely changes what defenses have to do when he's on the floor.
He's also averaging 12.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 4.8 assists while taking on tough defensive matchups every night.
The X-Factor Against Atlanta
Brunson and Towns will get their numbers.
The question in any playoff series is who steps up after that, and for New York, the answer has quietly been Hart.
If the Hawks sag off him to protect the paint or double Brunson on ball screens, he has to punish them, and if he doesn't, Atlanta has a real path to pulling off an upset.
Brown has already given Josh Hart the green light.