New Orleans Pelicans: Breaking down Josh Hart’s secret weapon

New Orleans Pelicans: Josh Hart’s most underrated skill

https://videos.nba.com/nba/pbp/media/2021/03/01/0022000533/127/ecc016cf-53ad-b0c8-e92d-2e40e4cd88db_1280x720.mp4 Over the last month or so, it seems like Van Gundy has given Hart the green light to push the ball up the floor off of opponents’ misses. Hart is rapidly becoming a legitimate grab-and-go threat, as you can see in the clip above. Everything start with his rebounding. Hart is an elite rebounder at his position, snatching down over seven boards per game. He is third in rebounds per game among bench players, trailing only Enes Kanter and Jarrett Allen while being ahead of Dwight Howard. In case you didn’t notice, those three are all centers while Hart is 6-foot-5.

Since Hart is already likely to come up with the ball, then it’s just a matter of pushing the pace and not giving the opposition time to reset their half-court defense. The Pels have been criticized at times this season for grinding things to a halt too much, especially after the breakneck pace of last season under Alvin Gentry. Hart is a big fan of that little goofy step he does right when he enters the paint. He’s more of a straight line driver, but this tiny change of direction tends to completely disorientate his defenders as Hart brings the ball across his body on the hop and then finishes. https://videos.nba.com/nba/pbp/media/2021/02/25/0022000503/141/e053a192-7af5-33bf-ed8f-7faf2dafb529_1280x720.mp4 Hart has been incredibly aggressive as of late. He is putting pressure on the opponent’s rim basically whenever he can, finding spaces in the other team’s defense and racing downhill to exploit them.