ATLANTA — When it comes to playoff basketball, few things are more inspiring than a player willing to battle through pain for his team. For Knicks forward Josh Hart, that meant suiting up for Game 6 against the Hawks despite a painful lower back contusion that forced him out of Game 5 with just five minutes left in regulation.
"I'm always questionable depending on how my body feels," Hart said with a grin at his locker before tipoff. "It was the back kind of locked up and then it went down to my hip. That happened in the first quarter [of Game 5]. I tried to play through it the second quarter, but at halftime it got tighter. I couldn't really move too much."
The Knicks downgraded Hart to questionable on Wednesday, raising concerns about his availability for a pivotal closeout game on the road. But after receiving treatment on his lower back, head coach Mike Brown confirmed Hart would be available to play.
The injury brings back memories of a more serious scare: Hart dealt with lower back spasms during the Knicks' preseason opener in Abu Dhabi in October, sidelining him for three weeks and causing him to miss the regular-season opener against Cleveland. He made his season debut the following game against Boston.
Hart has been the Knicks' Swiss Army knife all season, and this playoff series has been no exception. His defensive versatility has been a game-changer, as he's taken on the challenge of guarding both Hawks All-Star forward Jalen Johnson and starting guard C.J. McCollum. In Game 5, Hart's defensive pressure was evident—McCollum managed just six points on 3-of-10 shooting.
"His versatility is huge whether it's offensively or defensively," Brown said about an hour before tipoff. "Offensively, he pushes the basketball and helps us play faster. Defensively, he gives us the ability to move him around because of how strong he is and the feel he has on that end. And his rebounding allows us to cross-match if we want to put a smaller guy on him."
For a player who wears his toughness on his sleeve, Hart's availability for Game 6 is a testament to his grit—and a reminder that in the playoffs, every possession matters, and every warrior counts.