With injuries mounting, Knicks believe in 'next-man-up' mindset heading into Game 3
Josh Hart knows "next man up" sounds like empty rhetoric, a go-to cliché for teams dealing with injuries.
But it’s different with this Knicks team.
“We’re (not) saying it just because it sounds good. We’re actually saying it because we believe it,” Hart said late Wednesday after the Knicks engineered another short-handed win. "There’s a lot of guys on this team that can start (on other teams) in this league, so when we say it, it’s not cliché…. We truly believe it’s next man up.”
It’s hard to question Hart’s sincerity after what happened on Wednesday.
OG Anunoby left the game in the third quarter with hamstring soreness and didn’t return. Jalen Brunson asked to come off the floor late in the first quarter due to foot soreness. He, of course, returned in the second half to help lift New York to a 130-121 win over the Pacers.
It was another "I don’t believe what I just saw" night with these Knicks.
Brunson scored 24 points in the second half on a sore foot. Hart played 48 minutes for the second straight game, giving the Knicks 19 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists. The Knicks beat the Pacers with their starting center (Mitchell Robinson) and starting power forward (Julius Randle) in street clothes on the bench and one of their rotation players (Bojan Bogdanovic) out for the season.
The Pacers outscored the Knicks by 10 in the second quarter. Brunson was in the back dealing with his foot injury.
It looked dismal from the outside. But internally the Knicks felt like they had enough healthy bodies to compete – with or without Brunson.
“We were in the locker room like we’re going to win this game still. We got to defend, got to rebound, limit their second chances and play our offense. Not go outside ourselves,” Donte DiVincenzo said. “And that’s exactly what we did. Whoever we have on the court, it’s the same thing.”
The next-man-up philosophy may be tested again later this week. Anunoby’s status for Game 3 and beyond is uncertain. The Knicks will not practice on Thursday and will fly out to Indiana. They may have to face the Pacers on the road without their top defender and one of their best scorers in the postseason in Anunoby.
If you’re a Knick fan, you’re probably nervous about Anunoby’s status for Game 3. It’s reasonable, of course, to wonder how the Knicks can win games with yet another rotation player out due to injury.
But Hart, DiVincenzo, Brunson and the rest of the group don’t share those concerns.
“I think there’s a blueprint here that Thibs has laid out,” DiVincenzo said late Wednesday. “No matter who is in the game, we know what we’re looking to get and any game we play - as long as we defend with low turnovers - we can win.”
