New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns speaks to the media during a media day press conference. Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Why Knicks May Not Change Starting Lineup

Originally posted on New York Knicks on SI
By Jeremy Brener | Last updated Sep 27, 2025 7:00 AM ET

There's been a lot of chatter going around regarding the New York Knicks possibly changing their starting lineup.

The change would see Mitchell Robinson move into the starting lineup, placing Karl-Anthony Towns at the power forward spot and knocking Josh Hart to the bench. However, there's a reason that the Knicks may stick to the starting lineup they used throughout most of the regular season.

“When he is at the 5, we feel he’s a really good passer,” Knicks head coach Mike Brown said of Towns via The Athletic insider James Edwards III.

“Sometimes he’ll be at the rim. Sometimes he’ll be at the elbow. When he’s at the elbow, that’s when he’s going to be in a big decision-making role, and we feel he’s more than capable of making good decisions with the basketball, whether it’s a (dribble hand off), pass to the cutter. We also feel when we do pass to him on the elbow and have movement and floor spacing around him that he’s a huge threat. He’s one dribble away from laying it up or doing what he does best, which is realize where the contact is and draw a foul.”

New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns speaks to the media during a media day press conference Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The Knicks weren't able to start Robinson last season because he was on the sidelines for 65 games with an ankle injury. He will miss time this season, but the hope is his absence won't be as extensive.

This will give the Knicks a chance to work with different lineups and combinations to see what works best.

Towns' role as a passer doesn't mean he will start at center, but the team wants to highlight and showcase him in the best way imaginable.

“The biggest thing is we want to move KAT around,” Brown said. “We don’t want to keep him in the trail spot or at the top of the floor all the time. We want to move him around to the weak corner, strong corner, weak wing and sometimes as the push man offensively.”

Whichever way is best for the Knicks to put Towns in a spot to succeed is the route they will go.

There are pros and cons to Towns at power forward and center, but the Knicks will have the chance to figure out which way works best throughout the season.

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

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