Knicks’ Josh Hart Jokes Celtics Should Be Drug Tested

The New York Knicks suffered a blow in their season opener against the Boston Celtics, where they lost 132-109 at TD Garden.

In the game, the Celtics made an NBA-record 29 3-pointers in the blowout victory, which had Josh Hart shook in his postgame interview.

“The NBA needs to drug test them dudes,” Hart said h/t Posting and Toasting. “I ain’t ever seen anything like that.”

Later, Hart would set the jokes aside and praise the Celtics for their performance.

“They tied an NBA record in 3s. I mean, you always have about three to four games a year where a team just shoots the ball at an absurd clip and sometimes there’s not much you can do about it. We shot 58 percent,” Hart said. “There was some bad defensive breakdowns and lack of communication. You’ve just got to give them credit. Man, they had amazing energy, ring night, and they came out and shot the ball at a clip that I think we’ve only seen once before.”

The Celtics won’t make 29 shots from distance in every game they play this season, but they caught the Knicks on an uncharacteristically bad defensive night and took advantage.

The Knicks will be making adjustments all year long when it comes to their defense, especially early on as they navigate how to incorporate Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns into the mix. Because the Knicks have two huge pieces added to the team, everyone has to make some sort of adjustment, including Hart.

It’s up to coach Tom Thibodeau to figure out what the right buttons are to push, and that could take some trial and error early in the season. That’s why facing established teams like the Celtics early is a disadvantage. But now, the Knicks know where they stand and can move from there.

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