As of late, fans and pundits have been peddling the idea of a shake-up to the starting lineup for the New York Knicks. Recently, coach Mike Brown even revealed that he and his staff have mulled over such an idea themselves.
Ultimately, barring any unforeseen injuries, it appears the headman is planning on sticking with his core five of Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Karl-Anthony Towns as the franchise makes its way toward a fourth-straight playoff excursion.
Simply put, despite these pleas for change, any news other than this would be incredibly concerning at this stage of the campaign.
Knicks smart to keep lineup intact ahead of fourth-straight playoff run
Though the Knicks may be somewhat underperforming when compared to preseason expectations, stability is without question what they should be gunning for at this point.
Sure, on-court production would be preferred for this kind of descriptor, but solidifying and sticking with a primary lineup is the next best thing, and, frankly, doing so should help bleed over into the performance aspect of the game.
As recently as last month, Towns was found publicly stating that he's still trying to figure out and grow comfortable within coach Brown's system, while Mikal Bridges just admitted that he and his teammates are "still learning" how to best complement one another.
Keep in mind, they're now roughly six months into this core running coach Brown's scheme. Question marks this late are certainly concerning.
Of course, even with this in mind, pulling the rug out from under them and restructuring the lineup on the fly with only three games remaining in the regular season is far from a logical move, especially when there's a well-known, championship-round-or-bust mandate for the Knicks.
Fortunately, when it comes to the game of basketball, often it seems that the most important five-man configuration isn't the one a team starts out with, but rather the one they choose to end with.
Heading into the playoffs, there should be no tinkering to the starting lineup. However, beyond the unit seen out there for opening tip-off, there are a bevy of arrangements New York could experiment with.
Whether that's rolling out a dual-big lineup with Towns and Mitchell Robinson filling in at the four and five, respectivcely, or going small with Anunoby at the pivot, there are certainly a ton of options for the Knicks to try out while a game's in session.
The way they kick off contests, however, should stay the same from here on out.