During the quarterfinals of the NBA’s In-Season Tournament, Knicks wing Josh Hart had a funny message for Bucks big Brook Lopez.
Hart, who is 6-foot-4, approached the 7-foot-1 center to offer him some strategic advice. Hart said that when Lopez gets the ball near the basket, the Milwaukee big shouldn’t feel “scared” to pass it out to his teammate to avoid the mismatch.
According to Hart, despite the obvious height difference that favors the Milwaukee big by several inches, the mismatch favors the shorter player any time that he is guarding Lopez.
“I know when you got the ball in the post against me it’s a mismatch. Don’t be scared if you gotta pass it out!”
Josh Hart mic'd up is too funny 🤣 pic.twitter.com/cucO0xJkXC
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) December 6, 2023
Hart was joking, but let’s look into this one! For what it is worth, using the matchup database via NBA.com, Hart has defended Lopez on 31.5 partial possessions since 2018-19.
The big man is shooting 3-of-7 (42.8 percent) on these opportunities and has scored eight points. Lopez has also recorded three assists and three turnovers on these matchups. Not bad!
While the advice from Hart about a mismatch is tongue-in-cheek, it is also actually not the most awful observation. Lopez is averaging just 0.1 passes per game after post-up possessions this season, via NBA.com.
Last season, his pass percentage on post-ups ranked as the second-lowest (minimum: 40 post-ups) in the league. So perhaps, no matter who is assigned to guard Lopez, he should consider Hart’s suggestion.
