The New York Knicks enter the All-Star break having one of their best starts to the season in franchise history. They have a 36-18 record and sit at third in the Eastern Conference, having won four of their last five games and looking like a true contender in the league.
Knicks’ Josh Hart wants the team to improve in closing situations
However, they do have flaws that they want to fix in the second half of the year coming out of the All-Star break. Knicks guard Josh Hart acknowledged those flaws and is hoping for an improvement in a key area after the All-Star break to boost their championship “belief.”
“You always want to have a belief but we know that’s not good enough,” Hart said on ESPN’s NBA Today. “We’ve got to go out there and we’ve got to execute. We’ve got to get a lot better, I think. At 36 wins, we should have a couple more. We let a couple slip away. So we know we’ve got to continue to get better, continue to take it day-by-day, game-by-game, and see where we are at the end of the year.”
Hart’s comments come fresh off of a thrilling 149-148 overtime victory over the Atlanta Hawks, though the Knicks blew an 18-point lead and also a six-point lead in the final 10 seconds. They narrowly avoided disaster, and finishing out games is something that Hart wants to be different in the second half of the season.
The Knicks will be getting reinforcements in the second half of the season
Hart has been an integral piece to the team’s success this season. He is averaging 14.7 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game while also leading the NBA in minutes per game at 37.8. With him playing at a career-best level, the team has many go-to options that can break off a big game at any given moment.
Additionally, the Knicks will be getting OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson back on the court shortly after the All-Star break. Those two will be huge for the Knicks, as their presence should help improve a lot of the defensive miscues that they have endured this season.
New York will have their first game back from the All-Star break on Thursday, Feb. 20, when they take on the Chicago Bulls at Madison Square Garden.