After hiring Mike Brown to replace Tom Thibodeau, the New York Knicks appeared to confirm they were going to insert Mitchell Robinson into the starting five next season, while moving Josh Hart to the bench. Many already had this penciled in as a given. As it turns out, though, it's not.
According to New York Daily News' Kristian Winfield, there is "internal support" to keep the same primary starting five as last season. This faction of support is apparently rooted in Brown's desire to play faster a clip, and the belief it will be harder to do so while running out the dual-big frontcourt of Robinson and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Keeping an open mind as New York navigates the beginning of the Mike Brown era is important. But plenty of fans will be disappointed if the Knicks default to the same opening five as last year. And it's impossible to blame them.
The Knicks need to consider switching up the starting five
The quintet of Hart, Towns, Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby, and Mikal Bridges wildly underperformed last year. They outscored opponents by 4.1 points per 100 possessions for the season, but finished as a net negative during their minutes after Jan. 1, and were outscored by 31 points in their playoff court time.
Conversely, the version with Robinson instead of Hart was barely deployed. It logged a total of six possessions together during the regular season, before racking up 128 possessions during the playoffs that can be described as intriguing yet less than ideal overall.
Still, that’s not a large enough sample size to write it off. There is also no guarantee the starting five with Hart is wired to play that much faster. That group finished just 14.3 percent of their possessions in transition—well below the league average of 15.2 percent.
This admittedly could be a byproduct of Thibodeau’s offensive tenets. Brown will get any Knicks lineup running more often, particularly after they grab a defensive rebound. But even if this fivesome is the better fit for his system, the roster may not be built to lock it in as the starting unit.
New York's lack of wing depth must factor into its decision
Continuing to roll out Anunoby, Bridges, and Hart from the opening tip leaves New York with exactly zero reserve wings on which to lean. That’s a problem.
It would be one thing if the Knicks believed Pacome Dadiet or (the currently unsigned) Kevin McCullar Jr. were ready to sponge up real minutes. They clearly do not feel that way.
If New York is going to keep trotting out the same starting five, it needs to acquire another one or two wings. That means abandoning the Ben Simmons free-agency dalliance, and hoping they can use their final veteran minimum’s slot on someone who can more realistically tally across the 2, 3, and 4 positions.
Whether that’s a realistic goal given the limited tools at the Knicks’ disposal is debatable. But if they’re serious about running back the same starting five, they’ll have to figure it out.