New York Knicks guard Josh Hart played a substantial amount of minutes during last year’s playoffs. In fact, he was the regular season leader in minutes per game at 37.6 on average.

Knicks’ Josh Hart grew fatigued during the playoffs

That mark was near the same in the playoffs at 35.7, but that number is a notch down because he was eventually benched in favor of Mitchell Robinson during the Eastern Conference Finals.

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Hart said that fatigue eventually settled in, which contributed to his struggles during the playoffs.

“I gave everything I had…I just didn’t have anything left in the tank,” Hart said via Stefan Bondy of the New York Post.

Hart averaged 11.6 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 4.4 assists during the 18 playoff games the Knicks played. However, turnovers became an Achilles heel, as he averaged 1.9 per game and committed five in a crucial Game 4 loss to the Pacers in the ECF to go down 3-1 in the series.

A new system should be beneficial for Hart

It was clear that he wasn’t his usual self, as he looked less confident with the ball in his hands and wasn’t as willing to score. In Game 6 against the Pacers, Hart scored just four points and took only six shots in 22 minutes off the bench.

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With a new coach in place in Mike Brown, the hope is that the starters are relied on a bit less. They have a lot more depth now than they did last season, and they have a variety of lineup options they can utilize to provide a great impact.

Brown has already made it known that he wants to keep a watchful eye on player minutes, and Hart will likely be one of those who sees a noticeable decrease in workload. It’s still unclear if Hart will return to the starting five or remain in a bench role.

Nevertheless, Hart will come into this season hoping to bounce back after coming up short last year. A change in the minutes distribution should certainly help his play improve.