For the first two months of his stint in New York — when Josh Hart’s presence correlated with immediate and potent success — the Knicks got the very best version of his 3-pointer: a nearly 52 percent conversion rate through 25 games.
Such a number was never sustainable, but the steep drop through six games of this campaign — down to 25 percent on 3s and 33 percent overall — also can’t be the norm.
“Listen, I just got to make a f–king shot. That’s all it is,” Hart said. “They’re all good shots. I just got to make sure I’m being fundamentally sound when I’m shooting the shots. Small parts of my shots, fundamentally, I have to tweak and change and do those kind of things. So the biggest thing for me — I’m putting the work in, I’m shooting them everyday. I just got to make sure and take them with confidence, and they’re going to fall.
“You’re going to go through bad stretches. [When] I got here, I was a 52 percent shooter or whatever it was. So there are going to be good stretches; there are going to be bad stretches. I just can’t harp on the good; I can’t harp on the bad.”
Hart was hardly alone in his shooting woes heading into Monday’s matchup against the Clippers.
The Knicks ranked dead last in field-goal percentage at 39.9 percent, with Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo well below the Patrick Beverley line (40 percent).
For Hart, a career 35 percent 3-point shooter, the summer may have played a role in his early struggles.
The 28-year-old competed in the first playoffs of his pro career — extending last season by about a month — then played at the FIBA World Cup for Team USA.
As a result, Hart’s training camp with the Knicks was relaxed. He totaled just 26 minutes in four preseason contests.
“The legs are definitely feeling different at this point in the season,” Hart said. “I think you’re seeing that with [Team USA teammates Jalen Brunson, Austin Reaves, Paolo Banchero] a lot of the guys. We’re trying to get our legs back, trying to get into rhythm, those kinds of things.”
Brunson, who struggled until dropping 45 points last week against the Bucks, didn’t agree that he’s still affected by competing in the World Cup.
“I’m ready to go,” Brunson said. “That’s Josh.”
Hart, meanwhile, pushed back at the idea that his new role as a backup power forward — where he’s defending and banging with larger opponents — is also draining his energy.
“It’s not playing a different position,” he said. “The role is a little bit different, but for the legs, I’ve gotta try to find a way to — whether that’s changing my diet, whether that’s hitting the recovery, recovery session, eating harder, making sure I’m fresh and ready and making sure I’m ready to give more effort than I’ve been giving.
“ ’Cause I feel like I can do that.”
Hart played above his career standard last season and the Knicks not only rewarded him with an $81 million extension ($58 million guaranteed) but also the confidence to command positions with a size disadvantage.
Since the Knicks declined to replace Obi Toppin, Hart, at 6-foot-4, remains the only backup forward in the rotation.
His offense hasn’t clicked — perhaps because of tired legs — but coach Tom Thibodeau is happy with Hart’s contributions on the other side of the ball.
Heading into Monday, the Knicks were second in rebounds at 50.8 per game.
“Our rebounding has been off the charts. So we’ve been dominant,” Thibodeau said. “And you would think that would be your big concern [with our lack of size]. I think the uniqueness of Josh, he can guard all five positions. So that made us feel good. I think the advantage we get from that is his ability to push the ball on the break. To me, those are the hardest breaks to stop. So we have to get our rhythm offensively, that’s probably our biggest challenge. But defensively when we look at the numbers, it’s very, very strong. And I think we’ve been in position to win these games.”
