New York Knicks forward Josh Hart responded to Philadelphia 76ers big man Paul Reed dissing the Knicks ahead of the matchup between the two teams in the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs.
Josh Hart shrugs off Paul Reed’s comment:
“I don’t give a fuck about what he said. I don’t care.”
— Stefan Bondy (@SbondyNBA) April 19, 2024
After Philadelphia secured the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference with a win over the Miami Heat in the play-in tournament, Reed said that the 76ers wanted to face the Knicks in the first round instead of the Boston Celtics.
Paul Reed:
"We ain't ducking no smoke, but yeah we wanted the Knicks matchup, that's the easier team…" 👀
(🎥 @RunItBackFDTV)
pic.twitter.com/IwZ4pOlPQm— Ahn Fire Digital (@AhnFireDigital) April 18, 2024
The 76ers won their play-in matchup against Jimmy Butler and the Heat by a final score of 105-104. Reed contributed in limited minutes off the Philadelphia bench versus Miami, as he chipped in six points and two rebounds while converting all three of his shot attempts from the floor in just under 10 minutes of action.
Reed appeared in all 82 games for the 76ers during the 2023-24 regular season and averaged 7.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists per contest on 54.0 percent shooting from the field and 36.8 percent from deep in his fourth season in the NBA.
While Reed served as a productive reserve big man behind Joel Embiid, Hart had the better regular season of the two players, at least statistically speaking.
Hart did a little bit of everything on both sides of the ball in 81 regular-season games played with New York. He averaged 9.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 0.9 steals per game.
The 29-year-old has an uncanny knack for pulling down rebounds for his team. Despite measuring in at 6-foot-4, he has grabbed far and away the most rebounds by any player under 6-foot-7 over the last two seasons.
Per @bball_ref,
Most total rebounds by players under 6'7" over the past two seasons:
1. Josh Hart: 1,268
2. Draymond Green: 923
3. Anthony Edwards: 888
4. Jaylen Brown: 846
5. Dejounte Murray: 805
6. Russ Westbrook: 766— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) April 18, 2024
It will be interesting to see if Hart and Reed have a confrontation on the court at any point during the playoff series between the Knicks and 76ers in light of their comments.
Fans of the 76ers won’t have to wait a whole lot longer to figure out if the Knicks are indeed an easier matchup in the playoffs than the Celtics, as Game 1 of the series is scheduled for Saturday night.
