JB Bickerstaff had warned his players before the meeting: to slow down the Knicks, we must concentrate on Josh Hart. “He's the heart and soul of this team, so our goal is to try to keep him out of the game and not let him win the loose balls and dominate us. We have to prevent him from going on the rebound because he does a good job and his team feeds off him. »
Unfortunately, the Cavs did not manage to slow down the activity of the New York winger who signed his third triple-double of the season in the Knicks' victory. The third in a month with 13 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists! It's also him who kills the game in the last 90 seconds with a 3-pointer in the corner, then an interception.
“Some players enter a match with a shot. Honestly, personally, I do it with defensive rebounding, grabbing rebounds” he explains about his enormous harvest. “I feel pretty confident right now. I've been giving it my all these last two, three, four weeks, getting back to basics, getting back into the rotation. I feel like I shot well tonight, but it's more by playing the hard card that I get into a match.”
The collective spirit of Villanova
While his friend and teammate Jalen Brunson was injured in the 40th second, Josh Hart did not try to do too much and remained in his usual role.
“I’m not trying to be a player that I’m not” he explained in the locker room. “ When a player gets injured, you have to find a solution. We have to go out there and play our game.” He barely allowed himself to chamber Donovan Mitchell after his liberating 3-pointer. “He’s a friend, and I told him he had a nice chain” he laughs.
This is what Donte DiVincenzo appreciates, also coming out of Villanova like Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart. “The thing about us is we’re catchy. We are united collectively. There's not one player that's going to try to show up and outshine everyone. Our only goal is to win. And it doesn't matter how. »
