Josh Hart is dealing with a back contusion that could mess with his availability against the Atlanta Hawks. Whether he’s limited or flat-out absent, it will impact how the New York Knicks play. It could also pave the way for Deuce McBride to get more time alongside the other four starters.
Nobody wants to see Hart miss games. With the way he’s defending this series, very few likely want to see him play fewer minutes. He might be bricking threes (15.8 percent from downtown), but New York with him on the floor has outscored Atlanta by 46 points—the third-best mark on the team.
Deuce subbing in for Hart alongside Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Karl-Anthony Towns is nevertheless an arrangement fans have pined for more of since last season. Many wanted, if not outright declared that, this fivesome should be the starting lineup. Heck, plenty of people still do.
They might get their wish now.Â
If not Deuce McBride, Then Who?
All of what follows is presented with the caveat that Hart will almost assuredly play in Game 6, and beyond. He is the ultimate rub-some-dirt-on-it player to begin with, and missing postseason tilts goes against his religion.
Still, in the event he’s limited or not as effective, jacking up McBride’s minutes will be the natural response.
Even as he’s recently rolled out more dual-big lineups, head coach Mike Brown doesn’t sound keen on using the KAT-Mitchell Robinson frontcourt as a crutch. Jordan Clarkson’s renaissance has been wonderful, but the Knicks will need more defensive juice than he’s able to provide.Â
Landry Shamet or Mohamed Diawara could get dusted off, but they’ve been faces on a milk carton all series. Jose Alvarado is already starting to creep up the pecking order, but he’s smaller than McBride. So if the Knicks need to rely on someone else to round out their core lineup and dispatch the Hawks, it’s going to be Deuce.
The jury is still out on the Knicks’ Deuce-plus-starters lineup
Getting more of Deuce alongside the starters is a development many would welcome. What he gives up in size, he makes up for with offensive gravity. He is downing 43.5 percent of his triples for the series (10-of-23), and even when he’s not finding the bottom of the net, defenses treat him much differently than they do Hart.
McBride’s magnetic pull should have trickle-down benefits for everyone else. It gets harder for the Hawks to crowd Brunson, and driving lanes should open up for him, KAT, and Anunoby.Â
Still, a lot of this is theoretical. The Knicks busted out the Deuce-plus-starters look for the first time in Game 5. It outscored Atlanta by three points, across three total minutes of action.Â
Leaning on the regular-season sample doesn’t provide much clarity, either. New York rolled out Deuce alongside non-Hart starters for just 91 minutes (amid injuries). While the Knicks pumped in a ridiculous 1.34 points per possession during this span, it allowed almost as much (1.33). Looking back at last season also won’t help anyone. This lineup received just 41 minutes of action.
If the Knicks want definitive answers on this fivesome, they need to play it more. And depending on the state of Hart’s back, they may have no choice—not just for kicks or information, but to advance past the Hawks, and into the second round.
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