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Josh Hart’s energy and ability to spark his Knicks teammates is usually a given.
They can rely on that night in and night out.
But one part of his game has elevated and been a pleasant surprise for the Knicks.
Through two games of this Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Celtics, Hart is shooting 42.1 percent (8-for-19) from 3-point range.
For the postseason, he is shooting 44.0 percent (11-for-25) from deep.
Both represent a dramatic increase from the 33.3 percent mark he recorded in the regular season.
He had been, by far, the Knicks’ weakest outside shooter in the starting lineup, prompting opponents to leave him open from 3-point range and use his defender to help on Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns and the Knicks’ other scorers.
But so far, Hart is making them pay — all 11 of his made 3-pointers have been open (nearest defender 4-6 feet away) or wide open (nearest defender 6 or more feet away).
“He’s worked a lot on his shooting,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “You leave him open, he’s not hesitating. Just let it fly. I think that’s huge for us, particularly when they overcommit, you gotta trust the pass, trust each other, trust your teammates and you’re going to have an advantage on the backside. Anytime you put two on the ball, there’s advantages in another area.
“Karl gets double-teamed all the time. Jalen gets double-teamed all the time, so just trust each other, make the right play and usually the second pass against the blitz or the double-team in the post gets you a high quality shot.”
Hart poured in 23 points in the Knicks’ 91-90 Game 2 win Wednesday night at TD Garden — his highest total of the postseason.
He did it by shooting 9-for-15 from the field and 3-for-6 from 3-point range.
He also grabbed six rebounds — three offensive — and dished out three assists.
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When the Knicks are on the ropes, which they were for much of both games of this series, Hart often becomes one of their most impactful offensive players.
He constantly looks to push the pace in transition and also creates second-chance opportunities for his teammates.
He gets so many plaudits for his defense and energy — but his offense has been absolutely vital.
“I think you saw a variety of the way he scored,” Thibodeau said. “The transition and the takes are his strengths and he plays a lot bigger than his size, so the rebounding and also the finishing ability inside.”
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