{"id":202311,"date":"2025-10-04T22:21:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-04T22:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/202311\/"},"modified":"2025-10-04T22:21:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-04T22:21:09","slug":"knicks-preaching-caution-with-josh-hart-injury-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/202311\/","title":{"rendered":"Knicks preaching ‘caution’ with Josh Hart injury update"},"content":{"rendered":"

ABU DHABI, U.A.E. \u2014 A back injury kept Josh Hart out of Saturday\u2019s preseason victory over the Sixers.<\/p>\n

The official diagnosis from the Knicks was \u201cspasms,\u201d with a team representative downplaying the severity.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s preseason and we\u2019re going to err on the side of caution,\u201d the rep said. \u201cWe\u2019ll see where he is when [we get home].\u201d<\/p>\n

The Knicks flew back to New York on Saturday afternoon and will next play Friday against the Timberwolves at the Garden.<\/p>\n

\"NewJosh Hart injured his back in the Knicks preseason opener. AP<\/p>\n

Hart collapsed to the court in pain<\/a> in the second quarter of Thursday\u2019s preseason opener, then retreated to the locker room while holding his lower back. <\/p>\n

The forward had also been ejected because he threw the ball into the stands while lying on the hardwood. He wasn\u2019t available to the media after Saturday morning\u2019s shootaround.<\/p>\n

Meantime, OG Anunoby returned from a one-game absence because of a sprained hand and was impressive with 11 points in 13 minutes.<\/p>\n

With Anunoby back, Pac\u00f4me Dadiet went from starter in Game 1 to not playing in the first half Saturday, when he again struggled while going scoreless in seven minutes with two fouls.<\/p>\n

Before the game, coach Mike Brown indicated Dadiet, a first-round pick in 2024, certainly isn\u2019t a lock for the rotation.<\/p>\n

\"PacomePacome Dadiet dirves to the basket in the Knicks-76ers game on Oct. 4, 2025. AP<\/p>\n

\u201cIn terms of Pac in the rotation \u2026. I wouldn\u2019t take into account too much that he started in the last game,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n

The coach sees the potential but is asking for more intensity.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe could be a monster defensively. He\u2019s just got to play with a sense of urgency defensively and awareness every single possession,\u201d Brown said. \u201cEvery once in a while he just relaxes. And when he relaxes, he\u2019s not using his length, his athleticism and all the other attributes that he has that makes him a great defender.\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

In the battle for the final roster spots, Malcolm Brogdon got his chance Saturday.<\/p>\n

The veteran point guard played seven first-half minutes in the win, two days after he was benched for the opening two quarters. Brown has said he\u2019ll use the first half for his regular rotation players, then empty the bench at some point after the break.<\/p>\n

Landry Shamet had his opportunity Thursday, and Garrison Mathews will likely get a crack at the first half in Friday\u2019s game against the Timberwolves.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrying to see different guys we\u2019ve signed with different combinations,\u201d Brown said. \u201cAnd putting them in at different \u2014 I may throw a guy in for three minutes. And if I throw him in for three minutes, part of that is I may use him that way in the regular season or I may use him that way if he makes the team in the regular season. So how does he respond? So I\u2019m experimenting right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Brogdon finished Saturday with five points, four rebounds and two steals in 13 minutes, as the Knicks outscored the Sixers by seven with him on the court.<\/p>\n

Brogdon, Mathews and Shamet are the front-runners for a final roster spot. The Knicks can only keep one of them. But the team could also make a trade to open up another spot before the regular season starts.<\/p>\n

Shamet played nine scoreless minutes Saturday, all in the third quarter. Mathews finished with six points on 1-of-5 shooting, all in the second half.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ABU DHABI, U.A.E. \u2014 A back injury kept Josh Hart out of Saturday\u2019s preseason victory over the Sixers.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":202312,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[61628,355,361,46712,99],"class_list":["post-202311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-josh-hart","tag-nba","tag-new-york-knicks","tag-pacome-dadiet","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=202311"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202311\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/202312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}