The NY Knicks leave their fans worried after an unforeseen announcement on Thursday! Following the one-day break after the NBA Cup Finals, almost every team took the court, and tonight, the Timberwolves host the Knicks at Target Center. Amid this situation, while everyone anticipated a fully healthy roster from both sides, the Big Apple side shocked everyone with a Josh Hart update ahead of the game. The team listed out the star citing personal reasons.

Coach Tom Thibodeau just announced that Josh Hart won’t play ahead of the tip-off. Notably, the team initially listed the star under the Questionable category, citing the same reason. It immediately sparked a meltdown in the NBA world.

A fan pointed out an interesting angle. They wrote, “Questionable? These dudes only played basketball 2 times in the last 10 days with 8 days off between them. That’s like mini vacation.” 

On 11th December, the Knicks played the NBA Cup QFs against the Atlanta Hawks and lost it. Since then, the team has played only one game in 8 days. So, it certainly has triggered an alarming situation in the Knicks fold, considering the value that Josh Hart brings.

Especially, in the last season, when the Knicks struggled to find healthy players to fill the starting lineup, Hart punched in extended minutes consistently throughout the latter end of the regular season, and the hoopster helped the team reach the second seed. So, keeping his importance in mind, let’s see how much impact Josh’s latest update has left on Knicks fans.

NY faithful pour their heart out amid the Josh Hart uncertainty: “Hope all is good with him…”

Firstly, many fans poured in their prayers, hoping that everything was alright with Josh Hart. A fan went to the extent where they wrote,

“NOOOOO!!!! Forget about the game for a min.. Hope everything is ok with you.” Currently, the Knicks are in the third seed in the East with a 16-10 record despite their thin lineup. So, missing out on one game wouldn’t really matter much for the NY side.

Moreover, on the other end, another fan understanding the gravity of the situation wrote, 

“Hope all is good with him and his family. Next man up… win it for Josh.” One of the main drawbacks of their fold is the lack of depth. At the same time, Mitchell Robinson’s return would fix the adversity, sending Josh Hart to the 2nd unit. But until that happens, the team has to risk it with their remaining rotational younger players. So, if anything goes wrong, it can mess up the Knicks’ progress big time.

Above all, many players have taken short breaks in between the seasons, citing personal reasons. Recently,

Nikola Jokić missed three consecutive games, citing the same. While it left the Mile-High City in a nervy state, later it was found that the Joker took that break to be present for his child’s birth! Hopefully, Hart also has a calming ‘non-injury’ reason.Another fan looked extremely optimistic, as they wrote, “If it said he was “dead”, Hart would still play.” In fact, it’s an ode to the mindset that Josh Hart has passed on through his work. For instance, last season, when Hart punched in extra minutes consistently, a reporter asked the player about his toughness. The Knicks star surprisingly said, “You got people getting up at 6 am doing 12-hour shifts. Those people are tired. For us, we’re playing a game… We gotta keep that in perspective.” Truly a tough guy!

This fan pointed out the Knicks’ incoming problem without Hart and Robinson in the lineup. “7-man rotation lmfaooo.” Apart from the five starters, Coach Thibs uses only 3 reserves, namely Miles McBride, Precious Achiuwa, and Cameron Payne. So, Josh’s absence will further strangle their depth. What do you make of the situation? Will the Knicks overcome it? Let us know in the comments.