INDIANAPOLIS — There’s a new starting five in orange and blue.
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau was his usual, tight-lipped self when asked pregame whether he’d shake up the lineup with New York trailing 0-2 in the Eastern Conference Finals.
“We could,” he said flatly.
Turns out, they did.
Thirty minutes before tipoff, the Knicks announced the move they hope can stabilize the series and keep their championship aspirations alive. Josh Hart, who has started every game of this postseason run, moved to the bench. Mitchell Robinson, the Knicks’ most impactful player through Games 1 and 2, took his place in the starting five.
The switch gives the Knicks more rim protection and rebounding from the jump — and pairs Robinson with Karl-Anthony Towns in a twin-tower alignment reminiscent of the formula Minnesota used with Towns and Rudy Gobert before trading the former to New York in the Julius Randle deal.
“Yeah the rebounding gets even harder,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said of New York’s new front line ahead of tipoff on Sunday. “It’s hard to start with, but you have two seven-foot guys in there, and Towns is a great rebounder, too. And then you have Towns’ spacing and then Robinson’s rebounding, and it creates a lot of challenges.”
The Game 3 starters: Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Towns, and Robinson. A group built for defensive control — and for keeping up with Indiana’s tempo and ability to put pressure on the rim with second and third offensive actions.
“He’s a rebounding machine. He’s just physical, he has great hands and he just goes every single time,” said Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle ahead of Game 3. “He just has a great presence in there. It’s almost impossible for one person to block him out. So it’s a team thing and very difficult.”
Thibodeau, meanwhile, downplayed the importance of who starts. For him, it’s about groupings — combinations — not just the opening five.
“Every player has different strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes you look at the impact one may have on one particular unit. But also there’s a trickle down because there’s other things you have to factor in. How does [changing the starters] impact the second group? I never really look at the starting lineups per se, I look at the groupings,” he said pregame. “And you’re mixing and matching, also, to try to take advantage of what everyone’s strengths and weaknesses are. To try to get the most out of the team. Oftentimes there could be a player that comes off the bench that’s playing starter’s minutes and a guy who starts who’s playing bench minutes. So you mix and match.”
Hours ahead of tipoff, after Sunday morning shootaround, Hart embraced the idea of a potential change.
“I’ve been the 15th man, I’ve been the third man, I’ve been the sixth man, I’ve been whatever. I truly feel like I’m a starter in the league. I think I played amazing this year. So, if he does [bench me for Robinson], cool. I can’t sit here and preach about sacrifice and getting out of our own personal agendas, and then a decision like that is made, and then be mad at it and not want to sacrifice and do that. That’s not the person I am,” he said after Sunday morning shootaround. “If Thibs does that — and I don’t know if he is or isn’t — I’m all for it. I’m going to play my game, my minutes, my style, no matter if I’m coming off the bench or starting.”
The numbers back the decision. Robinson was a plus-six in 29 minutes off the bench in Game 2, logging six points, nine rebounds, and three blocks. Hart, by contrast, had six points and six rebounds in his worst performance of the postseason — and the Knicks were outscored by 10 during his 29 minutes.
“I don’t know. I mean it was one game. The game before that I think I had a good game and they went on that 14-0 or 16-0 run. If we won that game we would be happy. Outcome wasn’t what we wanted. The last game I didn’t play well. I don’t hang my hat on scoring and those kind of things. I think my energy wasn’t where it should have been. But, for me, there’s going to be highs and lows and that’s kind of how I go. I’m not too worried about it. Whenever I have a bad game, I usually come around and have a good game at some point. Hopefully that point is today.”
The lineup change didn’t come out of nowhere. The Knicks’ opening five of Brunson, Hart, Bridges, Towns, and Anunoby had been outscored by 50 points across 13 playoff games, including a minus-29 net rating in Games 1 and 2 against Indiana.
Hart knows the team needs more than just tactical tweaks. They need fire. Urgency. Desperation.
“I think we need something drastic in terms of our energy and effort, our competitiveness,” Hart said. “Just every game of a playoff series the intensity has to pick up. You can’t have any lapses, especially to start the game and you allow a team like [the Pacers], who is extremely talented offensively to get comfortable. I think that’s the biggest drastic thing we can do is have that energy change.”
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