{"id":54464,"date":"2025-11-28T04:13:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T04:13:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/54464\/"},"modified":"2025-11-28T04:13:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T04:13:11","slug":"knicks-josh-hart-has-vision-to-enhance-future-nba-cups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/54464\/","title":{"rendered":"Knicks’ Josh Hart has vision to enhance future NBA Cups"},"content":{"rendered":"

CHARLOTTE, N.C. \u2014 As the Knicks prepared for their big NBA Cup showdown against the Bucks on Black Friday, Josh Hart fit nicely into the commissioner\u2019s hat with a smart idea to spice up Adam Silver\u2019s tourney.<\/p>\n

The half-a-million-dollar reward for winning is great, Hart said, especially since he needs to replace some luxury watches that were recently stolen (more on that later)<\/a>. <\/p>\n

But as an added bonus to the winners, what about an advantage in the regular-season standings?<\/p>\n

\"NewJosh Hart reacts after hitting a 3-pointer during the Knicks\u2019 Nov. 26 win against the Hornets. AP<\/p>\n

\u201cI think what would be really cool is if they solidify it a little bit more, whoever is the winner gets a half-game [extra in the regular-season win column],\u201d Hart said. \u201cYou get to the championship game, you get a half-game if you win. If you lose the championship, it doesn\u2019t go against your record. Now you have that half game so you have the tiebreaker and it legitimizes that NBA Cup a little bit more. That\u2019s what I would love to see.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hart\u2019s suggestion is logical since a current knock on the NBA Cup, among others, is that winning just adds to the load of a grueling schedule. <\/p>\n

Currently, the championship game doesn\u2019t count toward the final standings \u2014 it\u2019s just an extra 48 minutes that other teams don\u2019t have to play. <\/p>\n

The previous two NBA Cup winners \u2014 the Lakers and Bucks \u2014 flamed out in the playoffs.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a small and simple adjustment from the brain of Hart. And yes, a final record of 52 \u00b9\/\u2082-30 does look awkward. <\/p>\n

But the NBA Cup is evolving \u2014 with the league teasing the inclusion of European teams down the road \u2014 and the NBA is searching for ways to captivate both fans and players.<\/p>\n

The Knicks, under Mike Brown, seem to be prioritizing the tournament, even without the half-game incentive. <\/p>\n

The new coach has preached the importance of the NBA Cup and followed through by running up the score in two group play victories, with starters on the court deep into garbage time and unrelenting in pursuit of a better point differential. <\/p>\n

It has left the Knicks (2-1 in group play) with the following scenario for Black Friday at MSG: <\/p>\n

Beat the Bucks and they advance to the quarterfinals.<\/p>\n

Lose and they\u2019re out.<\/p>\n

\u201cGuys are locked in. We\u2019re locked in,\u201d Miles McBride said. \u201cWhen they put something up to play for, we pay attention to it. We take it with seriousness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adding to the drama is the availability of Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is trending toward a return from a four-game absence because of a groin strain. He was upgraded to questionable before Wednesday\u2019s loss to the Heat but didn\u2019t play, leaving Friday at MSG as the logical return.<\/p>\n

Giannis loves the Garden, loves it so much that he reportedly chose the Knicks as his preferred destination if traded by Milwaukee<\/a>. <\/p>\n

He also eliminated the Knicks in the quarterfinals of the inaugural NBA Cup two years ago and is the defending champion.<\/p>\n

There are a lot of reasons to pay attention to Friday night, the biggest game thus far of this young Knicks season.<\/p>\n

\"MikalMikal Bridges dribbles the ball during the Knicks\u2019 Nov. 14 win over the Heat at MSG that counted for the NBA Cup. NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, we talk about [the NBA Cup],\u201d Brown said. \u201cI think in life, pressure is a privilege, so you try to manufacture it from time to time. I think if you\u2019re in a situation where there is pressure, you\u2019re doing pretty good because obviously if you\u2019re competitive you\u2019re going to put pressure on yourself no matter what. So trying to feel it from the outside a little bit as much as you can is a privilege and it gets you ready for the postseason, in my opinion, so I bring it up to our guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

Antetokounmpo\u2019s presence changes the dynamic of the game \u2014 he\u2019s averaging a ridiculous 31.2 points, 10.8 rebounds and 6.8 assists \u2014 especially since the Knicks don\u2019t have OG Anunoby (hamstring strain) to defend him.<\/p>\n

But Karl-Anthony Towns, who would line up against Antetokounmpo for tipoff, said they can\u2019t be concerned with Antetokounmpo\u2019s status.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, he\u2019s one of the top players in the NBA, but if we don\u2019t first take care of what we need to do first, then Giannis, no Giannis, we\u2019re going to lose the game if we\u2019re not playing Knicks basketball,\u201d Towns said. \u201cPut our best foot forward, play our best version, and we have a chance every night.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWhat\u2019s happening on and off the Garden court\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for Inside the Knicks by Stefan Bondy, a weekly exclusive on Sports+.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tThank you\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

The Knicks can claim the NBA Cup with four more victories, starting Black Friday (there are five non-tournament games scheduled before the quarterfinals). <\/p>\n

The semis and finals take place in Las Vegas, and the prize money can act as a recoup for Hart after he said his watches were snatched from a case in his room in September at The Dominick Hotel in Manhattan. <\/p>\n

Police sources told The Post that the case held three watches and one bracelet worth a total $185,000.<\/p>\n

The winners of the NBA Cup, meanwhile, get over $530,000 per player; the runner-ups get over $212,000 per player; the semifinalists get over $53,000.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, that\u2019ll be watch money,\u201d Hart said Wednesday. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CHARLOTTE, N.C. \u2014 As the Knicks prepared for their big NBA Cup showdown against the Bucks on Black…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":54465,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[4778,21,9,11,1104,10,319],"class_list":{"0":"post-54464","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-josh-hart","9":"tag-nba","10":"tag-new-york","11":"tag-new-york-headlines","12":"tag-new-york-knicks","13":"tag-new-york-news","14":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54464","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54464"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54464\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}