Knicks slow pace and Josh Hart’s comments on the team’s slow start, Digi Mart USA News (Indianapolis): Josh Hart said Friday that the Knicks’ slow pace has negatively affected himself, Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby, according to a New York Post report. All three entered Friday’s game against the Pacers shooting under 40 percent, while the Knicks were last in the league in pace at 95 possessions per game.
Hart said the team has fewer chances at the rim as a result. He pointed to coach Mike Brown’s view that Bridges is the league’s best runner, arguing that the Knicks waste that talent when they do not push the ball.
Hart also said OG Anunoby could get easier finishes at the rim if the team ran more, since smaller guards are sometimes defending him.
Hart said the solution is to push the ball up quicker in possessions, even if Jalen Brunson is not the one bringing it up. The report noted the Knicks were third in the NBA in field goals taken in the final four seconds of the shot clock, and shot an NBA-worst 57.2 percent in the paint.
They ranked 23rd in fastbreak points.
Hart also addressed his own start. He said a calf injury in September kept him out for about three weeks and limited his conditioning, and that an ankle injury in training camp slowed his ramp-up.
He entered Friday shooting 31.7 percent on 3-pointers, below his 41.3 percent average from last season.
Hart said he expects his performance to improve as the season progresses and he gets more running and activity. The Knicks have been carried partly by offensive rebounding and second-chance points, and Karl-Anthony Towns has had a strong start.
