Knicks staring down hard decisions to fix season-long weakness and stop ‘explosive’ 76ers guards

Josh Hart used most of his answer to joke around, but it revealed something important.

He spent the second half of the Knicks’ first-round series win over the Hawks guarding CJ McCollum.

It was that change — having Hart rather than Jalen Brunson guard McCollum — that completely stymied McCollum and helped change the course of the series.

Now, the Knicks must deal with two dynamic 76ers guards: Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe.

What’s the key to containing them?

“Probably just asking Tyrese to slow down a little bit,” Hart said after practice Sunday. “That’d be nice. The style defensively is gonna be totally different. CJ, he doesn’t have that quick acceleration at his old age, so you can be a little bit more physical with him. He’s an Unc. Tyrese and Edgecombe, they’re on the young side. They’re quick, they’re explosive, so there’s definitely a different style of defense. Gonna tell them to slow down a little bit so I can get my hands on them and be physical. It’s a fun matchup.”

It’s not a given that Hart will match up with either Maxey or Edgecombe.

Mikal Bridges would be a more natural or straightforward option, but his struggles in the first round meant he was twice benched — for the majority of the second half in Games 4 and 5.

Dealing with the duo might mean more minutes for Miles McBride or Jose Alvarado off the bench.

Or maybe even Landry Shamet finds his way back into the rotation.

Hart, though, was a defensive force throughout the first round for the Knicks — primarily guarding Jalen Johnson at the beginning of the series and then McCollum at the end.

It’s likely he’ll at least see some time on Maxey or Edgecombe.

It’s those types of quick, athletic guards that gave the Knicks their biggest fits this year.

Maxey is one of the fastest players in the league, able to use his speed to beat defenders off the dribble and create space on the perimeter for 3-pointers.

Edgecombe, a finalist for Rookie of the Year, has a quick first step and is explosive near the rim.

The Knicks’ point-of-attack defense was a talking point all regular season.

It was a weakness for the first half, then after a schematic change, greatly improved by the end.

Maxey and Edgecombe will provide a major test.

Maxey averaged 30.0 points on 51.2 percent shooting from the field and 50.0 percent shooting from 3-point range in the four regular-season matchups — which the two teams split 2-2.

Edgecombe averaged 19.3 points on 52.5 percent shooting from the field and 33.3 percent shooting from deep.

“They’re athletic, quick, dynamic, explosive,” coach Mike Brown said on Sunday. “They can score from all three levels. They can play the pick-and-roll, they can get out and finish in transition. Maxey is the No. 1 guy in transition in the league. They pose a big problem for us with them on defense.”

It’s also very likely Edgecombe will get the responsibility of guarding Brunson on the other end.

He spent the second-most time guarding Brunson among all defenders across the league in the regular season.

Brunson had success — going 10-for-15 from the field and 4-for-6 from deep along with three assists and no turnovers with Edgecombe as his closest defender, per the league’s tracking stats.

But Edgecombe has emerged as a strong defender otherwise.

And Maxey, though he may not scare anyone, is active.

“They’re really good in passing lanes,” Brown said. “Great anticipation, long arms, quick, explosive, great at all those things, which equates to a lot of turnovers for teams. Their guards can give anybody a handful of problems on both ends of the floor.”

When both are clicking at the same time, it’s as dangerous a backcourt as there is in the league.

Slowing them down will be key.