Pace Heater: Knicks' Josh Hart Rips NBA All-Star Game Host Indiana
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Josh Hart has no love for the Hoosier State.
The New York Knicks' forward/guard Josh Hart perhaps drew the ire of Indiana, which hosting the next edition of the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday night (8 p.m. ET, TNT). Unless the Knicks are making their way to Gainbridge Fieldhouse to face the local Indiana Pacers, don't ask Hart to make the trek out.
"Hell no, I'm not going to Indianapolis," Hart said on the latest edition of his podcast "Roommates," which guest-starred fellow Villanova alum and current Brooklyn Nets star Mikal Bridges. "If I don't have to play the Indiana Pacers, I'm not stepping a foot in that state."
"I do not want to be in Indiana for any All-Star break, anything. I am not an Indiana guy."
Brad Penner, USA TODAY SPORTS
Even supporting his close friend and "Roommates" co-host Jalen Brunson wouldn't be enough to drag Hart out. Brunson will rep the Knicks when he plays for the Eastern Conference squad on Sunday night in his maiden All-Star voyage.
Hart's comments should no doubt add to the chronicles of the Knicks-Pacers rivalry: the teams engaged in postseason battle on six occasions between 1993 and 2000, splitting those matchups evenly. Indiana took one more series in 2013, denying the second-seeded Knicks a bid in the Eastern Conference Finals. Fellow co-host, entrepreneur Matt Hillman took note of the repercussions Hart's comments could carry, declaring that "Knicks fans are going to love this!"
To his credit, Hart did offer some praise for Indiana, calling the unveiling of the All-Star Game court replica at Indianapolis International Airport "pretty dope." Hart also expressed a guilty pleasure of Hoosier cuisine, praising the state's plethora of White Castle locations as well as Long's, a Haughville-based Bakery specializing in donuts.
That's where the appreciation begins and ends, however.
"I hate going to Indiana, bro," Hart said. "Indiana? Bottom of the barrel."
Barring another postseason meeting with the Pacers, the Knicks will not travel back to Indianapolis this season. The Pacers prevailed in two of three meetings this season, earning the season series win with a 125-111 victory at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 10.
