New York Knicks
Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
After winning 51 games, the New York Knicks were easily one of the best teams in the regular season. When the playoffs got underway, Tom Thibodeau’s deep roster was cruising, defeating the Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics in six games.
Yet, now that they’re facing the Indiana Pacers, we’ve seen the Knicks crumble, losing two games in a row in epic fashion. Part of the reason for New York’s sudden struggles has been due to the performance of their starting lineup, which has a -29 point differential through the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Late during Game 2, we saw coach Thibodeau bench five-time All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns. Now according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, a change could be coming to the Knicks’ starting lineup for Game 3, but KAT won’t be riding pine this time.
Instead, the expected change would reportedly involve inserting center Mitchell Robinson into the starting lineup next to Towns, allowing the Knicks to mimic Minnesota’s Twin Towers lineup they assembled with Rudy Gobert and KAT. In this case, it would be Josh Hart being benched for Robinson, yet the former seems completely okay with the rumored move if it means getting an advantage in Game 3.
“I’ve been the 15th man, I’ve been the third man, I’ve been the sixth man, I’ve been whatever. I truly feel like I’m a starter in the league. I think I played amazing this year. So, if he does [make a change] … cool.
Josh Hart on potentially coming off the bench in Game 3
With Game 3 set to tip off at 8 p.m. ET on TNT and HBO Max, we’ll have our answer on whether the Knicks are making any starting lineup changes soon enough. Yet, we can’t fault them for trying something new after dropping the first two games of the series despite having home-court advantage at Madison Square Garden.
Now with the series heading to Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the Knicks are looking for different results, which could mean doing something different.
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