Down 2-0 in the conference finals, the New York Knicks are seriously considering a change to their starting lineup for Sunday’s Game 3, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Shams Charania. Coach Tom Thibodeau is considering moving backup center Mitchell Robinson into the starting five for wing player Josh Hart, sources told Charania. It would mark the first change all season to the Knicks’ starting five of Hart, Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns when those five are listed as available and healthy.
Source: ESPN
Source: ESPN
What’s the buzz on Twitter?
Lev Akabas @LevAkabas
Mitchell Robinson looks like a summer camp counselor playing with kids – 9:17 PM
Mitchell Robinson looks like a summer camp counselor playing with kids – 9:17 PM
Fred Katz @FredKatz
I know this would be a deviation, but I wonder if Mitchell Robinson starts the second half. If Thibs wants to play him 18ish minutes in the second half, it’s easier to do that with the first nine of the third and last nine of the fourth than for the final 18 mins of the game. – 9:05 PM
I know this would be a deviation, but I wonder if Mitchell Robinson starts the second half. If Thibs wants to play him 18ish minutes in the second half, it’s easier to do that with the first nine of the third and last nine of the fourth than for the final 18 mins of the game. – 9:05 PM
Sam Quinn @SamQuinnCBS
Gimme your all-time role player starting five. Just your favorites. We’ll set the bar at “never made an All-Star team.” Here’s mine:
PG: Jason Terry
SG: Alex Caruso
SF: Josh Hart
PF: Boris Diaw
C: Steven Adams – 11:32 AM
Gimme your all-time role player starting five. Just your favorites. We’ll set the bar at “never made an All-Star team.” Here’s mine:
PG: Jason Terry
SG: Alex Caruso
SF: Josh Hart
PF: Boris Diaw
C: Steven Adams – 11:32 AM
Sam Quinn @SamQuinnCBS
The Knicks are -37 with their starters on the floor this postseason. They were -16 last night.
They have 22 lineups this postseason with a positive plus-minus. Eight of them have played at least 10 minutes.
Seven include Deuce McBride. Six include Mitchell Robinson. – 8:58 AM
The Knicks are -37 with their starters on the floor this postseason. They were -16 last night.
They have 22 lineups this postseason with a positive plus-minus. Eight of them have played at least 10 minutes.
Seven include Deuce McBride. Six include Mitchell Robinson. – 8:58 AM
More on this storyline
They travel to Indiana trailing 0-2 in the Eastern Conference finals. “The whole year we played well on the road,” Josh Hart said after the Knicks’ 114-109 Game 2 loss to the Pacers on Friday night at Madison Square Garden. “We’ve played well on the road in the playoffs. That’s a tough place to play. Their crowd comes and shows love and support. But we’re a good road team. That always gives us confidence.” -via New York Post / May 25, 2025
Even with the comeback, Brunson and the Knicks spent most of their postgame interviews talking about how their lack of focus on defense did them in. “Obviously they do a really good job of moving the ball and forcing you into mistakes, and we have to be more sound defensively to guard the first action, second action, but also the third action,” Knicks wing Josh Hart said. “We’re down 0-2, and now we’re going to a tough place to play — Indiana — so we’ve got to go and fix it. We can’t have blown coverages, no matter how late it is in the shot clock.” Hart said the team’s defensive breakdowns late in the game were especially costly because they happened while the Knicks tried to mount their comeback. “In the playoffs, a lot of games are determined by a possession or two,” he said. “Two games in a row, we [made those mistakes]. We’ve got to figure it out.” -via ESPN / May 24, 2025
Law Murray: The New York Knicks were outscored by 20 points with Karl-Anthony Towns on the floor in Game 2 The Knicks 5-man starting lineup of Brunson / Bridges / Hart / Anunoby / Towns was outscored by 13 points in Game 2 and has been outscored by 29 points in the 2025 ECF vs Pacers. -via Bluesky / May 23, 2025
And yet, there was Towns, a five-time All-Star (including this season), subbing out with nine minutes left and the Knicks trailing by 9 to the Pacers. He did not return until there was 2:25 to go and New York was still down 9. Reserve center Mitchell Robinson, a defensive stud who, we can say, has offensive issues, was on the court in Towns’ place. The Knicks made it close — very close — in those final 145 seconds with Towns back on the floor, but still lost 114-109 and trail the Pacers 2-0 in the Eastern Conference finals. “Just, we got in a hole, and then the group that was in there gave us a chance,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said when asked to explain his decision to sit Towns for much of the fourth quarter. “So we were just riding (that lineup). We’re searching for a win.” -via New York Times / May 24, 2025
Kristian Winfield: Thibs on whether Robinson’s turned ankle slowed him down in Q4: “I don’t think so.” On if fatigue is a factor in Q4: “We had a chance to tie the ball game. It’s a hard-fought game. Both games came down to the last second. So it’s whatever you think it is.” #Knicks #NBA -via x.com / May 23, 2025