What is the best way to describe Josh Hart‘s impact on the New York Knicks?
A few words like hustler, high-energy, competitor, etc. However, those words undermine what Josh Hart means to the Knicks.
He is more than a “spark plug” or a “high-energy player. ” He is a vital component of the Knicks’ starting lineup, which relies heavily on Hart’s defense, playmaking, rebounding, and elite finishing ability.
Every Knicks fan knows Hart is like the “Michael Jordan” of role players, and unlike many of those role players, he is not replaceable.
Josh Hart does it all
If you did a blind comparison of Hart’s percentiles to an All-Star-level player, you would think he made the All-Star game.
Offensively, his TS% (true shooting percentage) is in the 91st percentile, portability (how well a player fits with the other four players) is in the 86th percentile, and his passing rating (measures the quality of passing) is in the 94th percentile.
Hart is on a historic pace, scoring inside the paint and shooting from mid-range. His two-point percentage of 66% would rank him number one all-time among guards in a single season.
On the defensive end, Hart is in the 70th percentile in deflections and the 71st percentile in rim frequency (which measures contested shots at the rim). Hart’s defensive presence and ball pressure are crucial to the Knicks without Mitchell Robinson.
In an era of data, the analytics love Josh Hart. This would seem uncommon because he is a “hustle and grind-it-out player,” and the analytics do not traditionally love players who do not have a consistent three-point shot or play as they did in the 1990s. It feels like Hart could play in that era and likely have the same impact he has today.
What sets him apart
How many guards in NBA history have averaged 10 rebounds per game? Tom Gola, Russell Westbrook, and Oscar Robertson. Gola and Robertson were above 6-foot-5, so it was easier to grab boards like most forwards.
Three Hall of Fame guards averaging 10+ rebounds per game, but then there is Josh Hart. Hart is averaging 9.7 boards per game and is on pace to destroy the franchise record of 8.3 rebounds per game he set last season.
Hart is also making history with his offensive rebounding. Averaging 2.2 offensive rebounds per game ranks in the top ten this century. Kings interim head coach Doug Christie recently praised Josh Hart on his offensive rebounding, saying you have to “play him like Dennis Rodman.”
With the rebounding, passing, and efficient shot-making, Hart can rack up triple-doubles. He is now second in franchise history with seven triple-doubles in a single season, one way from the record held by Knicks legend Walt Clyde Frazier. Rarely do you ever see a role player have a triple-double. Hart has achieved it seven times in the first half of the season.
The league needs to know that Josh Hart is not a role player. He is an integral part of the New York Knicks. Undoubtedly, he is a culture shifter, a winner, and sometimes the most important player on the court.
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