Josh Hart and the New York Knicks are currently in the process of preparing for the upcoming second round playoff series vs the Indiana Pacers, which is set to begin on Monday evening at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks got to this point by beating the Philadelphia 76ers in six games in what was the most entertaining series of the first round, in which Hart was electric in the first two games, struggled a bit offensively during the next three, but then came back to hit a huge shot in the waning seconds of Game 6 to secure New York's spot in the conference semifinals for the seconds straight year.

The Pacers present a new challenge for the Knicks, as Indiana boasts one of the most electric offenses in the league but isn't necessarily known for their defensive prowess. However, one player on the Pacers roster who embodies the defensive-first attitude of the Knicks is backup guard TJ McConnell, who personifies the word “pest” (in a basketball sense) in the modern NBA.

Recently, Hart had a hilarious take on McConnell ahead of the series.

“(McConnell is an) annoying little s*** who runs around, picks up 94 feet,” said Hart, per Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News on X, the social media platform formerly referred to as Twitter.

Hart also took some (friendly) personal jabs at McConnell.

“We have a lot of comparisons obviously. [I’m] a little taller, more handsome, better taste in wine, probably golf better,” said Hart.

An interesting series

From a stylistic perspective, the Knicks vs Pacers series figures to look quite a bit different than the series New York just wrapped up against Philadelphia. The Pacers prefer to play a much more “run and gun” style of offense, led by the electric point guard Tyrese Haliburton, rather than the 76ers, who generally were regarded as a bruising halfcourt offense led by Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.

For his part, Hart has been unbelievable so far in these playoffs, hitting several clutch shots, including a game sealing three in Game 1 vs the 76ers and the aforementioned game winner in Game 6, as well as bringing relentless energy on the offensive glass for a Knicks team that looked to be on a different level of conditioning than Philadelphia.

The Knicks should once again enjoy a substantial edge on the glass against a Pacers team that isn't necessarily small but doesn't profile as a tenacious rebounding team either.

Meanwhile, the Knicks will hope to have some continued excellence from point guard Jalen Brunson, who struggled mightily for the first three games of the series vs the 76ers but then came alive, scoring three straight 40 point games in Games 4, 5, and 6 to propel his team to the second round.

In any case, Game 1 of the series is set to take place on Monday evening back in the friendly confines of Madison Square Garden, where the Knicks went 2-1 vs the 76ers. The game is set to take place at 7:30 PM ET and will be carried nationally by TNT.