<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/wwe-news-triple-h-reveals-initial-roman-reigns-impression-jalen-brunson-josh-hart');   ga('set', 'title', 'Triple H reveals initial Roman Reigns impression to Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/WWE-news-Triple-H-reveals-initial-Roman-Reigns-impression-to-Jalen-Brunson-Josh-Hart.jpg"></figure><h1>Triple H reveals initial Roman Reigns impression to Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-16T17:33:54-08:00">December 16th, 5:33pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-16T17:33:54-08:00">December 16th, 5:33pm</time><address><a>Matty Breisch</a>Matty Breisch is a multifaceted writer who specializes in NFL and WWE content at ClutchPoints. He can be read at Heavy, FanSided, Philadelphia Sports Network, and right here at ClutchPoints. Are you ready to read about football and wrestling? Well, you've come to the right place.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>When he initially broke out onto the WWE main roster scene and especially after the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/wwe-seth-rollins-still-supports-ex-shield-member-jon-moxley" rel="noopener">desolation of The Shield</a>, few fans thought Roman Reigns was going to become the promotion’s next great star.</p><p>Sure, someone was going to have to take up the mantle for John Cena, especially as he became more and more involved in the Hollywood acting game, but goodness, he wasn’t even the most popular member of his faction, so the idea of turning him into the next Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson just because of their familial ties didn’t sit right with the fans booing him on the regular.</p><p>And yet, if you as Paul “Triple H” Levesque about his initial opinions on the “Tribal Chief,” which Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart did on their <i>The Roomates Show</i> podcast, the answer couldn’t be any more different, with “The Game” recalling a conversation with Dusty Rhodes that <a href="https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/triple-h-when-i-first-met-roman-reigns-i-told-dusty-rhodes-if-he-s-not-biggest-star-we-don-t-know" rel="noopener">laid out much of his future success in the squared circle</a>.</p><p>“The first time I ever met Roman Reigns, I had just taken over and started what would become our developmental system, and he had just transitioned over from football to being in our developmental system. The first day I met him, I sat down with him for 20 minutes just to get to know him a little bit,” Levesque explained via Fightful.</p><p>“Walked out of the interview and, at the time, Dusty Rhode was working in developmental with me, I walked up to Dusty and said, ‘If that kid is not the biggest star we ever have in ten years, I don’t know what we’re doing. Holy sh*t. He has everything.’ When he walked in the room, you couldn’t help but look at him and go, ‘Who is that?’ He has an innate X-factor charisma. Sometimes that happens, sometimes it’s the guy you don’t see it in them, ‘He’s good. He’s athletic. He’s this and that,’ but it’s really the character stuff. Sometimes it clicks, and sometimes it doesn’t.”</p><p>Now granted, as many WWE fans of the late-Vince McMahon era will happily attest, Reigns’ success is reliant on having good writing to back him up, as when he was <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/wwe-la-knight-just-buried-roman-reigns-ahead-of-their-wwe-championship-match-at-crown-jewel-suffering-succotash">spitting off lines straight out of a Looney Tunes skit</a> or being forced to eat dog food, he wasn’t exactly popular. Still, part of opportunity is taking advantage of what you are given, and when Reigns accepted a chance to turn heel alongside Paul Heyman, he ran with it to an incredible degree, turning in the performance of a lifetime with The Bloodline and becoming a Hall of  Fame-caliber performer over his expansive run with the Universal Championship.</p><p>Was the road a little more winding than even Levesque might have expected? Sure, but in the end, he got there, and frankly, that’s all that really matters.</p><figure class="op-interactive"></figure><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Triple H reveals initial Roman Reigns impression to Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/knicks-news-josh-hart-makes-out-of-pocket-jalen-brunson-gradey-dick-comments');   ga('set', 'title', 'Knicks’  Josh Hart makes out of pocket Jalen Brunson-Gradey Dick comments');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Knicks-news-Josh-Hart-makes-out-of-pocket-Jalen-Brunson-Gradey-Dick-comments.jpg"></figure><h1>Knicks’  Josh Hart makes out of pocket Jalen Brunson-Gradey Dick comments</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-09T21:25:50-08:00">December 9th, 9:25pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-10T14:54:03-08:00">December 10th, 2:54pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>There is nothing that the New York Knicks would have wanted more on Monday night than to score a victory over the Toronto Raptors to send them off on their merry way en route to their impending NBA Cup clash against the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday.</p><p>And that’s exactly what they got. Thanks to some clutch heroics from Karl-Anthony Towns, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/raptors-news-scottie-barnes-exits-knicks-game-troubling-injury">Knicks took a 113-108 victory</a> to improve to 15-9 on the season.</p><p>But apparently, according to Knicks forward Josh Hart, star point guard Jalen Brunson had a greater want in mind all night long — <a href="https://x.com/SbondyNBA/status/1866325336427799039" rel="noopener">hilariously invoking</a> Raptors sophomore Gradey Dick’s name in the process of saying what might be one of the most out of pocket things any NBA player has ever said.</p><p>“Second half, Jalen Brunson kept saying, I want Dick. I’ll take Dick,” Hart told reporters postgame, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Post.</p><p>Hart has always been one of the funniest people in the league. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-josh-harts-hilarious-plan-for-nba-cup-bonus">His deadpan humor</a> is nearly unmatched, and one would have to imagine that the Knicks forward said that about Brunson with a straight face. But Hart hilariously cannot be joking about these matters, especially given the suggestive nature of the Raptors sophomore’s last name.</p><p>For what it’s worth, Dick has embraced jokes regarding his surname in the past. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-news-raptors-gradey-dick-magic-anthony-black-go-viral-after-hilarious-jersey-exchange">Raptors sophomore accepted a jersey swap</a> with Orlando Magic guard Anthony Black last season, giving birth to one of the wildest and most hilarious moments in NBA history. Thus, it’s guaranteed that Dick’s heart won’t turn hard following Hart’s joke towards Brunson.</p><p>It’s good that Dick has a soft stance towards jokes regarding his surname and that he’s not extending any ill will towards such banter, which is good news for the Knicks forward.</p><h2><b>Jalen Brunson responds to Josh Hart’s wild joke after Knicks win</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Knicks-guard-Jalen-Brunson-11-and-forward-OG-Anunoby-8-react-after-a-three-point-basket-by-center-Karl-Anthony-Towns.jpg"><figcaption>© John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>And while Jalen Brunson may have allegedly said, according to Josh Hart, that he “wants” and “will take” Gradey Dick, the Knicks guard <a href="https://x.com/jalenbrunson1/status/1866345766102479145" rel="noopener">vehemently denied such accusations</a> — even posting on his official account on X (formerly Twitter) to clear his name.</p><p>“He’s lying on my name,” Brunson wrote.</p><p>Upon closer look, it does look like Hart truly is lying regarding this matter (of course he is). The Knicks guard was defending Ochai Agbaji to end the game, with Mikal Bridges being the one to take the Dick assignment. Nonetheless, don’t expect this to be the last time that Hart makes fun of Brunson in an out of pocket manner.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Knicks’  Josh Hart makes out of pocket Jalen Brunson-Gradey Dick comments

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/knicks-news-josh-harts-hilarious-plan-for-nba-cup-bonus');   ga('set', 'title', 'Josh Hart’s hilarious plan for Knicks’ potential NBA Cup bonus');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/0Josh-Harts-hilarious-plan-for-NBA-Cup-bonus0.jpg"></figure><h1>Josh Hart’s hilarious plan for Knicks’ potential NBA Cup bonus</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-04T07:39:08-08:00">December 4th, 7:39am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-04T07:39:08-08:00">December 4th, 7:39am</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>On Tuesday night, the New York Knicks destroyed the Orlando Magic, 121-106, in an NBA Cup game that was not as competitive as the final score line would indicate. This win meant that the Knicks will be advancing to the quarterfinals of the competition, going unbeaten and therefore booking a matchup against the Atlanta Hawks on December 11. New York is inching more closely to the grand monetary prize, with the players on the NBA Cup champion’s roster <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-lebron-james-locked-in-on-500000-prize-after-duplicating-extremely-rare-defensive-feat">set to make $500,000 each</a>.</p><p>This major monetary incentive is proving to be the lifeline of the NBA Cup, with players looking to do their best to win the silverware not only to get a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-lebron-james-gets-hilariously-real-about-why-hes-taking-charges-at-age-38">good payday for themselves</a>, but most importantly, for the less heralded players on the team who are making pennies compared to the superstars of the association.</p><p>But for Knicks wing Josh Hart, he (jokingly) <a href="https://twitter.com/knicksmuse/status/1864161428418011509" rel="noopener">doesn’t plan to be as benevolent</a> if they do manage to become the NBA Cup champion for 2024.</p><p>“I might get a new watch, though. Yeah, [I’m scrapping for the money]. I don’t really care about the young guys getting any money, I only care about me, what I’m gonna spend. I want a new watch. I’m gonna get that. Gonna get a new car,” Hart hilariously quipped to reporters following their win over the Magic, via KnicksMuse on X (formerly known as Twitter).</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Josh Hart on his NBA Cup bonus:</p><p>“I don’t really care about the young guys getting any money, I’m just worried about me, what I’m gonna spend”</p><p>Brunson: “You’re a f*cking asshole” 😭</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/NikiLattarulo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NikiLattarulo</a>) <a href="https://t.co/klvbUQbhKH">pic.twitter.com/klvbUQbhKH</a></p><p>— KnicksMuse (@KnicksMuse) <a href="https://twitter.com/KnicksMuse/status/1864161428418011509?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 4, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Knicks star Jalen Brunson overheard the interview in its entirety and joked about how messed up Hart’s remarks were.</p><p>“You’re a f**king asshole,” Brunson screamed in the background.</p><p>One reporter asked if Hart would allocate some of his winnings towards gambling if the Knicks do manage to win it all. But the 29-year-old seems to have sworn this off completely.</p><p>“Nah, I don’t even bet no more bro,” Hart added.</p><p>It might not be the best idea for the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-tom-thibodeau-reveals-immediate-concern-after-nba-cup-win-vs-magic">Knicks to count their chickens before they hatch</a> — especially when they will have a formidable matchup ahead of them in the NBA Cup quarterfinals.</p><h2><b>Knicks set to battle against Hawks in NBA Cup quarterfinals</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Knicks-head-coach-Tom-Thibodeau-talks-to-guard-Josh-Hart.jpg"></figure><p>The Atlanta Hawks seem to be a bit of a thorn in the Knicks’ side over the past few seasons; who could forget the time when the Hawks defeated the Knicks in the 2021 NBA playoffs — with Trae Young making Madison Square Garden his personal playground?</p><p>Earlier this season, the Knicks also lost to the Hawks, 121-116, in a thrilling game that saw Atlanta pull out the win in the end. The Hawks have athletes across multiple positions that can tire out a shallow Knicks team, while Jalen Brunson will have his hands full dealing with Dyson Daniels’ defense. The Knicks, on paper, should be favored, but there is no counting out the Hawks in the NBA Cup — especially after they beat the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics in group stage action.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Josh Hart’s hilarious plan for Knicks’ potential NBA Cup bonus

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/knicks-news-jalen-brunson-josh-hart-hilariously-different-motivations-nba-cup');   ga('set', 'title', 'Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart’s hilariously different motivations for NBA Cup');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Knicks-news-Jalen-Brunson-Josh-Harts-hilariously-different-motivations-for-NBA-Cup-1.jpg"></figure><h1>Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart’s hilariously different motivations for NBA Cup</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-02T12:25:55-08:00">December 2nd, 12:25pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-02T12:25:55-08:00">December 2nd, 12:25pm</time><address><a>Matt De Lima</a>Matt De Lima is an Associate Editor for NFL and college football at ClutchPoints. He has been covering sports for over 12 years at sites like Sports Illustrated, The Game Day, and countless others. Born and raised in California, he is a graduate of Virginia Tech and a diehard Hokies fan who now resides in southern Maryland.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Players on the winning NBA Cup team are awarded over $500K each, and even players on the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-tom-thibodeau-refuses-blame-quentin-grimes-0-point-bucks">losing quarterfinals teams</a> are given $50K. Consider it a holiday bonus since the NBA Cup concludes on December 17. What players do with that money is their business, and when you consider the disparity between guys on a supermax contract compared to the NBA G League guys on two-way contracts, the motivating differences are huge. When asked what they’ll do with their bonus money, New York Knicks stars Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart had comically different motivations <a href="https://x.com/Krisplashed/status/1863648597985697844">to win</a> the NBA Cup, per NY Daily News’ Kristian Winfield.</p><p>“Jalen Brunson said he wanted to win the NBA Cup in part to help teammates on min. salaries and 2way deals to get a $500k payday. Asked Josh Hart after practice today about winning the Cup so those teammates could get paid: ‘No. I wanna win cause I want a damn watch. The new AP.’</p><p>For those of you who aren’t high-end watch connoisseurs, Hart is referring to the brand Audemars Piguet. The nearly 150-year-old Swiss watchmakers are world-renowned for their luxury timepieces, which range from the tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars.</p><p>Last year, the Knicks advanced to the knockout stage and qualified as the Eastern Conference’s No. 4 seed at the bracket stage. They lost to the East’s No. 1 seed in the quarterfinal round. The Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA Cup championship game, 123-109, against the Indiana Pacers.</p><h2><b>Knicks are a tier below in the East</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Knicks-Jalen-Brunson-Josh-Hart-1.jpg"><figcaption>© Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>It’s a long season, and situations can change, but New York doesn’t quite seem to be at the same level as the top of the Eastern Conference. In the top tier, there are the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics. In the second tier are the upstart Orlando Magic and the Knicks.</p><p>In Brett Siegel’s latest <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-power-rankings-24-25-week-6-magic-rockets-soar-surprise-success-stories">NBA Power Rankings</a>, New York climbed one spot up to No. 10.</p><p>“When the New York Knicks have 33-point victories like they did over the New Orleans Pelicans, or even 27-point statement wins on the road against the Denver Nuggets, they look like one of the best teams in the league. Then there are the hiccups that have existed this year for the Knicks, like a 15-point road loss in Dallas or a one-point win in Charlotte. The Knicks have won four straight conference games, yet inconsistencies that lie on the defensive end of the floor are a concern for this group.”</p><p>The Knicks are a starter-heavy team and must continue to ingratiate role players off the bench like Miles McBride and Cameron Payne. The latter, a 10-year vet in his first year in New York, is shooting well at a .439 clip from three-point range at about 18 minutes per game.</p><p>Getting guys like Precious Achiuwa and Mitchell Robinson back on the court will only help keep the Knicks’ stars healthy later in the season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart’s hilariously different motivations for NBA Cup

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/knicks-news-josh-hart-calls-out-scared-shoot-narrative');   ga('set', 'title', 'Josh Hart calls out ‘scared to shoot’ narrative');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Josh-Hart-calls-out-scared-to-shoot-narrative.jpg"></figure><h1>Josh Hart calls out ‘scared to shoot’ narrative</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-11-21T12:33:31-08:00">November 21st, 12:33pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-11-21T12:33:31-08:00">November 21st, 12:33pm</time><address><a>Kris Pursiainen</a>Kris Pursiainen is an Associate Editor for all sports based in the NJ/NYC area. Kris brings several years of experience reporting on and writing about professional teams to the table. With experience all over the country as a New York Knicks, New York Jets, New York Mets, Super Bowl LVIII, and Big East beat reporter, Kris has been breaking news and reporting on the NBA, NFL, MLB, and college basketball landscapes for years. Kris is a proud graduate of Fordham University.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After the Knicks’ 138-122 <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-jalen-brunson-karl-anthony-towns-taking-same-kobe-shaq-path">Wednesday road win</a> over the Phoenix Suns, Josh Hart <a href="https://x.com/DuaneRankin/status/1859497853086990817" rel="noopener">told reporters</a> that he’s feeling confident in his shot. And that they can roll with narratives about his hesitation to if they want, but he’s the person in charge of the shots that Josh Hart takes.</p><p>“I’m confident in my shot right now,” Hart said in the visitors’ locker room. “I’ll leave the, ‘I’m not confident,’ or, ‘I’m scared to shoot’ narrative for y’all. Y’all can roll with that if y’all want, but at the end of the day – for me, you know – I like to play my game how I want to play my game. I like taking my shots how I want to take them. Taking the shots that I want. Um, and I don’t let anyone affect that.”</p><p>Hart is known for his <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-josh-hart-calls-out-media-early-hiccups">willingness to be silly translating to leadership</a> in the Knicks locker room. But he was quite the straight shooter here, pun certainly intended.</p><h2><b>Josh Hart is propelling the Knicks with his great… shooting?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Josh-Hart-and-Mikal-Bridges-celebrating-a-Knicks-three.jpg"><figcaption>Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Hart contributed greatly to the Knicks’ Wednesday night win over the short-handed Suns. He recorded 19 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, and three steals, and only recorded one turnover and two fouls. Hart made eight of his 11 shot attempts including two of his three from behind the 3-point arc. Single game +/- numbers can be extremely finicky but Hart had the second-highest of the contest with a +22.</p><p>And this performance was just one of many thus far in a season full of offensive growth for the 29-year old Swiss army knife of a wing. Hart played in six games during the 2023-24 regular season in which he finished with 18 points or more. He’s reached that mark three different times in the first month of play this season.</p><p>And wait, there’s more! When <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/grading-the-knicks-blazers-josh-hart-cam-reddish-trade">the Knicks traded for Hart in the 2022-23 season</a>, he shot 58.6% from the floor in the portion of the season he played for New York. But in his first full season as a Knick, Hart’s FG% plummeted to 43.4%. A combination of several factors likely caused this: the additional volume in attempts that came as a result of the several injuries the Knicks sustained that season, being tasked with more ticking end-of-shot clock time bombs, and simple variance.</p><p>But Hart has made 81 of his first 136 shot attempts in the ’24-25 NBA season. That’s good for 59.6% which would easily be his career-high if the season ended today.</p><p>Hart is averaging what would be the fourth-highest volume of shot attempts per game of his career. And he’s making the most of them. The additional space on the court as a result of sharing the floor with four highly-reputable shooters is helping. And Josh Hart’s success on the <i>offensive</i> side of the floor is proof for Knick fans that their team’s huge experiment seems to be working so far.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Josh Hart calls out ‘scared to shoot’ narrative

RJ Barrett

Lou Williams

Gordon Hayward

Alex Caruso

Josh Hart

Julius Randle

Nicolas Batum

Serge Ibaka

Rajon Rondo

Rudy Gobert

Los Angeles Lakers

New Orleans Pelicans

Portland Trail Blazers

New York Knicks

2 seasons

Career

3 seasons

https://twitter.com/joshhart/status/1651444839689363458/

https://twitter.com/joshhart/status/1649202105826127872/

With this version of Mikal he might be the best two way player in the league

https://twitter.com/joshhart/status/1647436456502124544/

https://twitter.com/joshhart/status/1646345258718973953/

https://twitter.com/joshhart/status/1646233150773657610/

https://twitter.com/joshhart/status/1645594827982004224/

So Jack and Rose weren’t real people on the Titanic…?

https://twitter.com/joshhart/status/1643356675745644547/

We spending all this money. We need a strike who can put the ball in the net

https://twitter.com/joshhart/status/1643331456209416196/

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
14.0	8.0	5.4	0.4	1.4

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
14.0	8.0	5.4	0.4	1.4

Josh
Hart

Latest Josh Hart News

Triple H reveals initial Roman Reigns impression to Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart

Knicks’ Josh Hart makes out of pocket Jalen Brunson-Gradey Dick comments

Josh Hart’s hilarious plan for Knicks’ potential NBA Cup bonus

Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart’s hilariously different motivations for NBA Cup

Josh Hart calls out ‘scared to shoot’ narrative

Latest Josh Hart Tweets