Knicks Fans Want Starting Lineup Change

Moving to that lineup earlier in the regular season was out of the question after Robinson missed a good part of the regular season thanks to a ankle injury that carried over from the prior tour. That injury removed Robinson, the longest-tenured Knick set to enter his eighth season in Manhattan, from his long-standing spot in the metropolitan starting five, as he was replaced interior by the since-departed Isaiah Hartenstein and later Towns upon his arrival.

The idea of opening five featuring two big men has been a talking point from the moment Towns was acquired from the Minnesota Timberwolves late last offseason. Over 58 percent of Edwards' answerers want to see that five carried over into next year.

"Fans ... feel like pairing Towns with a more traditional, defensive-minded center like Mitchell Robinson is the best way to go in order to maximize this team’s ceiling," Edwards said in his analysis. "While the results [with the Robinson lineup weren’t great, they were better than the previous starting lineup."

"The former lineup played 65 minutes together in the playoffs (which was the 15th most-used lineup in the entire playoffs) and posted a -3.7 net rating," Edwards noted. "The Brunson-Bridges-Anunoby-Hart-Towns lineup played 335 minutes together (which was the most-used lineup in the entire playoffs) and had a -6.2 net rating."

Another possibility fans appreciated was replacing Hart with recurring sixth man Miles McBride, as just under 21 percent suggested such a setup so as to maximize the homegrown veteran's shooting. Over 17 percent advised the Knicks to stand pat with the commonly accepted five, which helped pave the way to a 51-31 record and the third seed on the playoff bracket.

In any event, the conformity is one of the reasons why the Knicks have been viewed as an Eastern Conference favorite amidst several injuries and cost-cutting transactions from other contenders.