The New York Knicks have been getting the best version of Josh Hart lately, providing head coach Mike Brown with a cure-all solution to several potential questions about the lineups and rotations. Injuries to Landry Shamet and OG Anunoby put Hart into the starting lineup, where he's excelled as of late and made things easier for Brown regarding the management of Mitchell Robinson's minutes. The Knicks might have a rotational framework that can get them to the playoffs right in front of them, and they should take that into account as teams around the league start making trades.
Knicks' puzzle pieces are falling into place
Hart thriving as a starter is a storyline that has emerged in tandem with Robinson slowly getting increased amounts of clearance from the Knicks' medical team to play more minutes. The team's head coach has deployed the rim-protecting center in short spurts thus far, directing him to impact the game as much as possible for a few minutes before resting his legs for the majority of each quarter.
Although the spurts in which Robinson has been playing are slowly increasing in length, due to updated guidance from the team's medical staff, he's still averaging just 17.3 minutes per game so far this season. While he's impacted New York's games in myriad ways in that time, it's not enough to guarantee that he can play extended stretches to both start and close each contest.
Hart's emergence in the starting lineup allows Brown to not have to worry about wasting valuable time with Robinson on the floor at the start of games. The coach can close with both Hart and Robinson if he pleases, but starting just Hart keeps four shooters out there to open games and sets Robinson up to have a good amount of energy, and small amount of fouls, by crunch time.
The team's coach was laudatory of Robinson's contributions as part of the second unit after the team's NBA Cup win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
“Mitch has given us a great punch off the bench. His ability to offensive rebound against starters and backups has been huge for us. So he has to keep bringing that to the table. So he gives us a different look in the starting lineup and then gives us a different look when he comes off the bench,” Brown said, praising the 27-year-old big man.
How Hart's starts can affect trade strategy
As Hart balls out with the starting lineup, Robinson remains as important as a starter despite his new role as a technical part of the team's second unit. This allows Hart to float between the starters and bench players, contributing alongside the group that needs him most.
Especially considering Tyler Kolek's own emergence as part of the same second unit, the Knicks may not have an urgent need for depth as the NBA calendar begins to transition into winter's trade season. Even without Anunoby and Shamet, New York is holding up due to improved play from players like Hart, Kolek, and Deuce McBride.
The Knicks may choose to get better ahead of this year's trade deadline. But it seems like, unless the injury bug makes its way back around quickly, they're doing alright for now.