{"id":198956,"date":"2026-06-04T13:09:31","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T17:09:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=198956"},"modified":"2026-06-04T13:09:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T17:09:31","slug":"how-the-knicks-use-josh-hart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/06\/04\/how-the-knicks-use-josh-hart\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Knicks Use Josh Hart: Clunky Rockets Should Nick It"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Wednesday night, the New York Knicks won Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs, 105-95<\/a>. A lot of the praise will go to the beloved Game 1 hero Knicks stars<\/a>, Jalen Brunson<\/a> and Karl-Anthony Towns<\/a>. But the Knicks coaching staff deserves some praise, too. And there’s no higher praise than saying other teams could learn something from how the Knicks use Josh Hart<\/a>. The Houston Rockets should consider themselves chief among those teams.<\/p>\n

A Coaching Masterclass in How the Knicks Use Josh Hart<\/h2>\n

Spurs event horizon Victor Wembanyama<\/a> will earn his share of criticism for a 6 of 21 performance from the field.\u00a0 Likewise, the Spurs coaching staff, for that matter, for letting their 7-foot-4 prodigy go 2 of 12 on shots outside of the paint. But the player that Houston’s fans and coaching staff should be paying the most attention to is the heart and soul of the Knicks.<\/p>\n

How the Knicks Use Josh Hart<\/h3>\n

Hart had an unusual stat line in Game 1 of the Finals. That is, it would be unusual for anyone else. Hart had three points, 15 rebounds, six assists, four steals, one block, and shot 1 of 5 from the field. In the regular season, the 6-foot-5 Hart had five games<\/a> with double-digit rebounds and single-digit points. The Knicks have learned how to make the most of his unusual contributions. It showed in Game 1, as he led all players in plus\/minus with +22.<\/p>\n