The New York and Philadelphia squads are commencing NBA exhibition play in Abu Dhabi with a set of contests this Thursday and Saturday, underscoring the league’s growing international presence. These are two teams that have a strong possibility of facing each other in the postseason — potentially even the Eastern Conference Finals — contingent on both teams maintaining adequate player health. However, player health has been a recurring concern for both teams in recent seasons, and Thursday’s game proved no exception.
Early in the second quarter, Knicks guard Josh Hart attempted to secure a rebound following an unsuccessful 3-point attempt by Sixers rookie Johni Broome. Hart subsequently fell, and a jump ball was signaled after Sixers’ Kennedy Chandler contested the ball with Hart. As the referee indicated the jump ball, Hart threw the ball high in the air, displaying obvious discomfort, and it appeared he had aggravated his back in the process. Although it looked like Hart tossed the ball out of frustration, the referee assessed a technical foul on Hart and decided to eject him from the game.
Here’s the sequence:
The situation raises questions, considering Hart sustained an injury during the play and seemed to throw the ball in an effort to distance Chandler from him while experiencing pain. However, the referee evidently perceived it differently. Hart gingerly made his way to the locker room after getting up, and he will undoubtedly undergo further assessment soon.
Following the 99-84 defeat, Knicks head coach Mike Brown mentioned that Hart is experiencing lower back discomfort and that his condition would be reassessed on Friday ahead of Saturday’s game.
“I didn’t witness his fall; I just noticed he was down and seemed to be in considerable discomfort,” Brown commented. “But he’s being evaluated daily, and we’ll see how he feels tomorrow.”
Sixers coach Nick Nurse had a direct view of Hart’s injury, as the incident unfolded directly in front of Philadelphia’s bench.
“I believed something quite serious had happened,” Nurse noted. “It wasn’t the result of a collision; it seemed to occur on his own, which is always concerning. He appeared to be in significant pain. I’m unsure of the diagnosis. Hopefully, it’s not severe, but initially, it seemed quite serious. I was trying to get everyone’s attention, signaling, ‘Let’s go, get out here.’ Let’s hope he recovers.”
Judging from Brown’s remarks, the injury appears to be relatively minor, which is a great relief for the Knicks. In many aspects, Hart represents the essence of the Knicks, particularly on the defensive end. He’s a versatile player who is willing to sacrifice his body, as demonstrated in this particular play.
Hart is currently managing a finger injury that will necessitate him wearing a splint throughout the season, following surgery during the summer. Adding a back injury to this list is less than ideal, especially so early in the season, but it appears he won’t be sidelined for an extended period.
