Josh Hart, a player for the New York Knicks, sustained an abdomen soreness in Game 6 against the Indiana Pacers.
Tom Thibodeau’s system, which involves warrior-like and extremely physical basketball, has brought many benefits to the New York Knicks over the past two seasons. However, such an approach to games, with the constant insistence that the starters play almost without a break, has taken its toll.
The NBA is played at a frantic pace, and the Indiana Pacers are the fastest team, leading the league in pace during the regular season. The math is simple. Josh Hart has played the most minutes in the league this season, and something had to give. He is not the only one, as the Knicks have already lost Julius Randle, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Mitchell Robinson this season. Now, OG Anunoby and Josh Hart, players Thibodeau highly trusts, are questionable for Game 7.
Hart has consistently given New York everything he’s had. From Game 4 of the first round through Game 2 of this series, he averaged 48.2 minutes per game, in the playoffs overall, he has averaged 42.6 minutes. During the fourth quarter, the Knicks ruled out Hart for the remainder of the night with what the team called “abdomen soreness.”
“Obviously, something must have been really wrong, but I saw him come back in the game and continue the fight. I wasn’t really necessarily worried or anything. I guess you can just add it to the list” Jalen Brunson said.