The New York Knicks spent years stocking up assets and assembled what was supposed to be the most talented starting lineup in the NBA. But after two full regular seasons, and more than three rounds' worth of playoff experience together, the fit still doesn't seem to be there. This is especially troublesome amid their first-round series against the Atlanta Hawks.
Josh Hart potentially moving to the bench has been discussed, and even tested. It ultimately doesn't seem to be something the Knicks want to commit to. The data, however, has become overwhelmingly clear.
Whether it's Hart, OG Anunoby, or Mikal Bridges that subs out, New York has been better since 2024-25 with just two of their three starting wings on the court.
Bridges, Hart, Anunoby are all great players – but do they fit together?
The results are simple, regardless of which stretch of Knicks basketball you want to include in the sample size. That includes Game 4 against the Hawks.
New York lost the 29 possessions of the game with all three of Bridges, Hart, and Anunoby on the floor by two points, per Max Wildstein. Every lineup that had just one, or even two, of the three? They won their 64 possessions by 18 points.
That includes garbage time, but demonstrates just how stark the difference is – even in playoff games with small margins.
Throughout the first four games of the series thus far, Knicks lineups with all three wings are a -18 in 153 possessions. With two wings or fewer, though, they're a +43 in 230 possessions.
An acknowledgement of these trends should not serve as anything close to some final, career-ending indictment on the members of the Knicks' front office who exchanged control of the team's future for their current roster.
It should, however, inform coaching decisions that help Mike Brown's ball club play better basketball.
Knicks' wings' troubles go back to start of 2024-25 regular season
Also made clear by the data is that this problem is not particular to Brown as a head coach. In the 2024-25 regular season, all three wings were +1.8 in their 3,455 possessions together. In 4,522 possessions with only two or fewer, they were +6.3.
Again h/t @MaxWildstein https://t.co/n9wvgFn0YX pic.twitter.com/Lpu6Hp2qon
— ShwinnyPooh, Diawara playing time advocate (@shwinnypooh) April 26, 2026
And, overall, over the last two years (including both playoff runs), lineups with two wings or fewer are six points better than those with all three.
Going into Game 5 at Madison Square Garden, Brown doesn't necessarily need to change his starting lineup. But he should learn from what the last two years' worth of lineup data have to say about the combination of Hart, Bridges, and Anunoby.
They're all great players. The Knicks need all three to win big games. But they might not make it to those big games if they keep playing all three together.
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