New York Knicks guard Josh Hart reacts in the third quarter during game six of the eastern conference finals. Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Knicks Should Keep Starting Lineup Intact

Originally posted on New York Knicks on SI
By Jeremy Brener | Last updated Sep 12, 2025 7:00 AM ET

The New York Knicks are figuring out what to do with their starting lineup for the upcoming season.

While the Knicks have one of the best starting lineups upon first glance, there is some room for improvement. However, Bleacher Report contributor Grant Hughes believes the Knicks should run it back with Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns in the starting five.

"Unless new head coach Mike Brown demotes Josh Hart to the bench and goes double-big by slotting Mitchell Robinson next to Karl-Anthony Towns up front, we know what we're going to get from the Knicks because we got so much of it last year," Hughes wrote.

"No five-man unit played more than this one in 2024-25, and the results were good enough to justify sticking with the status quo. If any changes are coming, it'll be in the volume department — not to the overall makeup of one of the NBA's top starting groups."

New York Knicks guard Josh Hart passes the ball against the Indiana Pacers Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

The Knicks are in need of some relief for the starting lineup, but there could be room for some improvement.

Regardless of whether they keep the starting five the same or not, the quintet will have a lot of minutes together on the floor.

"If Brown cuts down on his starters' minutes, it should make it easier to encourage more transition pushes. New York was highly efficient on the break last season but posted a bottom-10 transition-frequency rate. If fatigue is less of a factor, the Knicks could see this group be more productive on a per-minute basis," Hughes wrote.

"Known commodities are comforting, and the Knicks' starters are as reliable as it gets. This may not be the most dominant unit in the league, but it gets the job done at a high level — even with KAT continually failing as a defensive anchor."

Towns is too good of a scorer to bench, but he may need some help protecting the rim. That's the argument to replace Josh Hart with Mitchell Robinson in order to get more size down low.

Brown will likely experiment with Hart and Robinson in the starting lineup throughout the season to see which player works best when rounding out the first five.

The decision on which player to have in the starting lineup is an important one, but as long as the Knicks have it right by the time the playoffs roll around, that's what matters.

This article first appeared on New York Knicks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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