Knicks discover they need Josh Hart to start

Josh Hart is back in the starting lineup and the Knicks are winning.

Coincidence? We think not.

It appears that Knicks coach Mike Brown has realized what former Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau knew last season when he played Hart an average of 37.6 minutes a game, the most in the NBA. Brown is beginning to understand that the Knicks play their best when Hart is on the floor.

After beginning the season coming off the bench, Hart has started four straight games, and the Knicks have won all of them. After their 116-94 victory over Toronto on Sunday — in which Hart had 20 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and three steals in 35 minutes — Brown took the blame for not recognizing earlier in the season the intangibles that he brings to the floor.

Part of the problem was that Hart was injured in the preseason, so it took some time for the new coach to have a feel for how he would fit in their system.

“Especially our first three losses. I’ll take the hit on that,” Brown said of Hart’s early-season role. “He didn’t really play in the preseason. He didn’t really practice in the preseason. For me, I was behind the 8-ball trying to incorporate him with what we were trying to do. It just took time.”

Hart, who was dealing with back and hand injuries in the preseason, struggled early to deal with his limited minutes off the bench. Recent injuries to OG Anunoby and Landry Shamet made it necessary for Brown to rely more on everyone, including Hart. He has responded by averaging 17.0 points, 11.8 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 2.8 steals in the last four games.

In the Knicks’ win over Milwaukee on Friday, Hart’s fingerprints were everywhere as he finished with 19 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists and three steals.

The Knicks (13-6) head into Tuesday night’s game in Boston in second place in the Eastern Conference behind the Detroit Pistons. What’s more, it appears that Anunoby, who has been out two weeks with an injured hamstring, has been making progress and could be back sooner rather than later.

Anunoby will rejoin the starting lineup when he returns. A strong case can be made for Hart to be the fifth starter instead of Mitchell Robinson or another player.

That, of course, would give the Knicks the same starting lineup — Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Hart, Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns — that they went with for the majority of last season under Thibodeau.

Hart made it clear at the beginning of training camp that he wanted to be a starter.

“I had the best year of my career last year, but that’s in the past,” said Hart, who set a franchise record with nine triple-doubles last season.

“I think I’m a starter in the league. I think I deserve to be a starter in the league, but at the end of the day, it’s what’s best for the team.”

It’s that kind of attitude that has impressed Brown the most.

“His sacrifice was unbelievable because when I took him out, he just sat. When I called his number, he went out and played,” Brown said Sunday. “But more importantly, his belief in the process, even if he thought I was wrong, was awesome.

“When you’re a leader, you have to show that or embrace those types of things more than everybody else because you got to set the example, and if somebody steps out of the realm of what our standard is, because you did it as a leader, now you can tell them, ‘Hey, come back over here because we all got to do this. I had to go through it, you may have to go through it, this guy may have to go through it.’

“So he’s a special player, but he’s also a great human being to be around.”

Brunson honored

Brunson was named the Eastern Conference player of the week. In four games, he averaged 28.8 points and 4.5 assists per game, shooting 40.7% from three-point range.

By Barbara Barker

barbara.barker@newsday.commeanbarb

Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.