As the New York Knicks continue to be without Jalen Brunson, there has been an adjustment period leading to some frustrating moments like in Saturday’s loss to the New York Knicks between Josh Hart and head coach Tom Thibodeau. While there have been speculations around Thibodeau and beef with other players like Mikal Bridges, that’s mostly talk while a clip on the sidelines saw Hart and the coach have a heated incident, a situation that both parties have downplayed.
Thibodeau would say to the media after the game that besides adoring Hart, it could be used as a way to fuel the team past the recent setbacks like Brunson’s injury. He would also go into how Hart is super valuable for the team, and all it was at the end of the day was a “passionate moment.”
“I love Josh, you guys know that. Just whatever can get us going, just try to get us going,” Thibodeau said.
“Yeah, that’s it,” Thibodeau continued as he agreed it was a passionate moment. “He helps his team so many different ways. You know, it’s his hustle, it’s his defense, it’s his play making, it’s the rebounding, it’s the pace, but no one’s going to shoot great for 82 games, so if you’re not shooting well, just do the other stuff. And normally that’s his game, you know, he’s hustling, he’s getting you layups, he’s pushing pace, he’s all over the place with loose balls and stuff like that. So sometimes it may not go as well as you would like, but you’ve got to keep going.”
“I love Josh, you guys know that. Just whatever can get us going, just try to get us going… sometimes it may not go as well as you would like but you gotta keep going.”
Tom Thibodeau on his heated exchange with Josh Hart during Knicks-Warriors.pic.twitter.com/5LNYyrHLRp
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 16, 2025
Knicks’ Josh Hart and his loyalty to Tom Thibodeau
The basketball world could have felt that the Knicks coach in Thibodeau butting heads with players is a “bad sign,” but it has been the competitive nature of the team. Hart would also undermine the incident saying that one wouldn’t find a “more loyal player” to Thibodeau than himself according to The New York Post.
“You all know me. You know my feelings towards Thibs,” Hart said. “You’re not going to find a more loyal player. I love Thibs. I think that was just my frustration coming out with the flow of the game, my own individual performance.”
“Yeah, I was just, you know, it was just something that just happened in the heat of the moment. I’m a competitor. He’s a competitor. So sometimes those things happen. I don’t think it really — it doesn’t affect our relationship. It doesn’t show anything of what’s going on. It’s just two extremely competitive people in a fiery moment. I love Thibs. I love what he’s doing. And he’s putting us in the best position to be successful.”
The 30-year-old would admit the Brunson aspect as well, saying “without No. 11, sometimes we’re not as organized,” as he’s currently suffering and healing from an ankle injury. New York is currently 42-24 which puts them third in the Eastern Conference as they take on the Miami Heat on Monday.
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