Josh Hart delivered his best performance of the season on Friday night, leading the New York Knicks to a 128-113 victory against the Chicago Bulls. Hart posted 14 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists. He demonstrated incredible versatility, while dealing with a significant nerve issue in his right shooting hand.
That win was a dramatic reversal of fortunes for Hart, who had floundered in his first outings with the Knicks. Before this performance, he had scored just 11 points on 4-for-19 shooting in his first four games. For me, his performance from beyond the arc caused red flags to go up. He was definitely pressed, shooting just 1 of 10 from deep in those games.
Hart revealed that he still hasn’t completely healed from a nerve injury that damaged his dominant hand. This is a surprising turn, given his strong polling. He admitted, “Yeah, my nerve hasn’t fully gotten back to what it was before.” The condition caused him to feel tingling and numbness, seriously hindering his success on the court.
Hart’s troubles started at the beginning of the year when he missed the first game of the season with a back injury. He didn’t have a lot of time to prepare. He lost most of the final weeks of preseason after appearing for 10 minutes in an exhibition game over in Abu Dhabi.
Knicks head coach Brown acknowledged Hart’s efforts but stated he was unaware of the extent of the nerve problems affecting his player. He praised Hart for making it through the injury. He praised Hart’s work to adapt to a new coaching staff and an offensive overhaul.
Here’s hoping that, eventually, that nerve grows back to where it once was. Hopefully sooner rather than later, but for now it’s a journey, Hart expressed regarding his recovery. And through all of his physical challenges, he always highlighted the need to keep up the energy and resilience.
Reading that statement, fellow players responded with anger and sadness. So my overall goal today was just to get out there, play hard, just have fun. Despite ongoing issues with his shooting, he went 1-for-4 from three-point range against the Bulls. Hart’s performance signals a positive trajectory as he continues to adjust to his circumstances.
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