The New York Knicks blew out the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night to extend their season, but many Knicks fans are still unhappy.
New York ran away with Game 5 of their Eastern Conference Finals series against Indiana, winning 111-94 at Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y. As a result, the series now shifts to Indianapolis for a Game 6 on Saturday night (with the Pacers now leading 3-2).
While the Knicks had a lot to be encouraged about on Thursday (namely 32 points from Jalen Brunson and a 24-13 night from Karl-Anthony Towns), there was one major fly in the ointment — the performance of Knicks swingman Josh Hart.
Hart finished with a decent 12-10-4 line off the bench. But he also turned the ball over three times, many of which ignited transition opportunities for the Pacers. Hart looked tentative offensively as well and was the only Knicks player to finish with a negative plus-minus for the game.
As a result, Knicks fans all complained on social media about Hart’s play as well as head coach Tom Thibodeau’s continued faith in him.
I’m as big a Josh Hart fan as you’ll find but he’s borderline unplayable right now
— Fitz (@FitzGSN_) May 30, 2025
Josh Hart is making so many mental mistakes it’s hard to watch
— NYKTerry (@NykTerry) May 30, 2025
Josh Hart is allowed to sit, Tom
— Andrew Claudio (@AndrewJClaudio_) May 30, 2025
Josh Hart is above criticism in Tom Thibodeau’s mind.
— KnicksMuse (@KnicksMuse) May 30, 2025
Terrific player, but he currently has a negative +/- in a game where the Knicks lead by double digits.
Bro this attachment to Josh Hart is insane, you have like 10 other playable players right now
— sam (@fbl_sam) May 30, 2025
As a do-it-all hustle and energy guy (with a particular impact when it comes to rebounding and defense), Hart fits exactly the kind of player profile that Thibodeau loves. But it was still bizarre to many that Hart played 34 minutes during Game 5 while more potent scorers capable of matching Indiana’s firepower such as Miles “Deuce” McBride (18 minutes) and Landry Shamet (14 minutes) were used far more sparingly.
Thibodeau has at least shown a willingness to tweak Hart’s role in other regards lately. But moving away from Hart entirely is apparently not an option as the Knicks’ series against the Pacers nears an end.
