A New York insider predicts that first-year head coach Mike Brown will implement a huge change to the Knicks' starting five this season.
Knicks insider projects major starting lineup change this year originally appeared on The Sporting News
A New York Knicks insider predicts that first-year head coach Mike Brown will implement a huge change to the team's Knicks' starting five this season.
Brown, hired to replace former five-year head coach Tom Thibodeau even after the latter led New York to a 51-win season and its first Eastern Conference Finals berth in 25 years, surprisingly catered his Sacramento Kings teams to his star players' offensive proclivity — a marked change from his prior stints guiding the defense-first Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers.
Thibodeau, to his credit, proved fairly adaptive during his final postseason run with New York, adjusting his own first five to fit the evolving needs of various playoff series.
Mike Brown Could Implement a Drastic Change for New York
James L. Edwards III of The Athletic projects that one of Thibodeau's playoff lineups could supplant his preferred 2024-25 regular season starting lineup comprising All-NBA point guard Jalen Brunson, shooting guard Josh Hart, All-Defensive small forward Mikal Bridges, All-Defensive power forward OG Anunoby, and All-NBA center Karl-Anthony Towns.
Knicks’ predictions: Way-too-early depth chart surprises, rotations and starting lineup changes
— James L. Edwards III (@JLEdwardsIII) August 18, 2025
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Edwards believes that injury-prone center Mitchell Robinson, whom Thibodeau slotted into his starting lineup when Hart's shooting fell off a cliff during the playoffs, will ultimately supplant Hart on Day 1, shifting Towns, Anunoby, and Bridges down a position, and creating a jumbo-sized frontcourt.
"Let me start with this: I think Josh Hart deserves to be a starter, and if he ends up not being one (as I predict), I think it says more about the Knicks and Brown wanting to improve the defense than it does Hart," Edwards notes. "Having Mitchell Robinson as the anchor of the frontline will help do that. Furthermore, if there were to be a starting lineup change, Hart would handle it the best of anyone in last season’s starting lineup."
In 2023-24, Hart was a reserve behind starter Donte DiVincenzo. New York had to throw in DiVincenzo's contract, along with headliner Julius Randle and some draft equity, as part of a 2024 summer deal to make the money work in the deal that brought Towns to Madison Square Garden.
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"The starting lineup of Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Hart, OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns struggled in the postseason, despite the team making the Eastern Conference [Finals]," Edwards observes. "That five-man group played a playoff-leading 335 minutes together and had a minus-6.2 net rating. Midway through the postseason, former head coach Tom Thibodeau, with a push from Hart himself, swapped Robinson into the starting lineup."
Robinson is an athletic rim protector, and can help man the middle while Towns stretches the floor.
"That Brunson, Bridges, Anunoby, Towns and Robinson lineup didn’t set the world on fire, but it performed better than the previous starting group (albeit with a smaller sample size). The new starting lineup had a minus-3.7 net rating in 65 total playoff minutes."
Edwards makes another bold prognosis: that Hart won't even be the first man off the bench for New York. Instead, Edwards believes new free agent signing Guerschon Yabusele will be subbed in first for Robinson, keeping the Knicks' frontcourt big.
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Category: Basketball