Knicks' Josh Hart winds up in starting lineup after all
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - NOVEMBER 26: Josh Hart #3 of the New York Knicks reacts following a dunk during the first quarter of the game against the Charlotte Hornets at Spectrum Center on November 26, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) *** BESTPIX *** Credit: Getty Images/Jared C. Tilton
It took until the playoffs last season for Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau to make the lineup change that pushed Josh Hart to the bench and inserted Mitchell Robinson as a starter. And it took just a month for new coach Mike Brown to decide that it was time to go back.
Maybe Thibodeau would have made the move to Robinson earlier if he had been healthy and available, but he missed the first 58 games of the regular season. With Hart struggling in the postseason, the Knicks finally adjusted, and when Brown arrived, he insisted that this was the way he would go, too.
But Brown shifted gears, not only making the lineup change because Hart has been an important piece but because the move allows Karl-Anthony Towns to shift to center full-time, the spot where his skills have made him a three-time All-NBA selection — including last season, his first in New York.
“Everything is fluid in this business,” Brown said. “Anything can happen at any time.”
That’s certainly true — and something that any observer of the Knicks is well-acquainted with — but it’s hard to argue that Towns is more comfortable at center, Hart has served as a connector to the starters and Robinson’s constant workload management makes relying on him a difficult task.
The Knicks utilized eight different starting lineups in the first 17 games with OG Anunoby, Jalen Brunson and Landry Shamet banged up in addition to Robinson’s in-and-out schedule. Towns and Mikal Bridges are the only players to start every game.
“I go back to what our standard is,” Brown said. “And the first one is sacrifice. And all of these guys can start. So somebody has to sacrifice. So one, the connectivity is there. The competitive spirit is there. But more importantly, the belief is there no matter who is out there. All our guys have been extremely good with knowing what each other’s standard is and holding each other accountable.
“I’m a guy who wants to take a look at different things. And I even said this to our staff. If at times it’s the right matchup, I’m not afraid to throw a rookie out there to start. It’s all about being early in the season and trying to find the right feel for the team. Again, hopefully we’ll [be moving up] all the time, but we’re going to [struggle] and stumble back, and sometimes when you stumble back, it’s not just about playing harder and doing this. Sometimes maybe switch things up. Take a look at what you have in front of you and see if it’s the right move long-term. Who knows? But it’s still early in the year.”
Hart didn’t gripe when he went to the second unit this season, but he did tell Brown that if the move was going to be made, he didn’t want to shift back and forth between starter and sixth man. But with the team needing the boost he provides, that went out the window.
Asked if Hart has made things easier for the other starters, Brown smiled and said, “And for Mike. He makes things easier for everybody. And I said this — we got a new coach, new system. And you look back, especially our first three losses on the road, I think two of those losses, Josh was sitting next to me in the fourth. And I’ll be the first to say that wasn’t the right thing to do because he does so many great things for us and our group and our coaching staff. And obviously as time has gone on, we’ve gotten a better feel for how we’re going to play him and he’s got a better feel, too.”
“Y’all know me,” Hart said. “I try to do whatever this team needs. Obviously, starting in this league is something that’s big, something that you always want to do. I’ve been a starter for three years, I think, the last three years, on and off. Part of the time I haven’t with some injuries. That’s something I’m comfortable with. If that’s what he’s willing to do, it’s perfect.”
“His energy, his passion for the game, obviously you guys see it, always talking out there,” Deuce McBride said. “He just figures out a way to get us going. He’s really the engine of the team.
“I feel like when we have a faster lineup out there, we just get the pace going, we get stops. We have guys that want to guard, get stops and then get up the floor. And then we’re just good with sharing it. When KAT’s going, we’re looking for KAT. Obviously, JB, he’s dominant. And then we all just feed off that.”
Getting Towns going is one of the biggest parts of this swap. Brunson has seemed to flourish the same way no matter the system or lineup, but Towns has said he is still trying to find his way in Brown’s offense. At center, he just seems able to take advantage of his shooting ability and passing without having teams match a mobile wing on him.
“Most of the credit goes to him because he’s the one being patient with it,” Brown said. “And I talked about one of our standards being belief. Not just belief in each other but belief in the process is just as big. And he’s believing in the process the whole time and kind of just letting it unfold until he’s found his way. And he’s still going to get better. And we’ll get better.”
“It’s different,” Towns said of playing center instead of power forward beside Robinson. “Just puts me in a different spot on the court offensively. Just a different place where I am in the offense and a place where I am in our concepts.
“Get an opportunity to do something in basketball, I’m going to try to capitalize on the opportunity. I don’t know exactly that it’s playmaking. I’ve said it before. I just try to be aggressive — I know [people] say playmaking with my passing, I say playmaking as a scorer, maybe just making a play. When I get an opportunity to be aggressive in playmaking, I try to take those opportunities.”
Chasing a banner
The Knicks clinched a spot in the NBA Cup quarterfinals by beating Milwaukee on Friday night, setting up a game in Toronto on Dec. 9, and they had differing reasons for chasing the in-season championship.
While the Knicks already treated midseason games with reverence under Thibodeau, unlike some teams, they never made it past the quarterfinals.
In the initial year of NBA Cup play two seasons ago, they were 3-1 in group play but fell to eventual champion Milwaukee. Last season, they were unbeaten in group play but lost to the Hawks in the quarterfinals, with Trae Young rolling dice at Madison Square Garden in the closing minutes to signify Atlanta’s trip to Las Vegas.
The Knicks, to a man, stressed the importance of NBA Cup play this time around, but there were some interesting reasons.
First, as you might expect, Hart had a story.
“It’s something that’s fun, something that’s cool,” he said. “For me, that’ll be watch money since I got robbed with no gun.”
When we paused to make sure we’d heard what he said, Brunson interjected a story in which he made believe he had a gun under his shirt and that Hart was held up with multiple watches stolen. That wasn’t how it happened, but Hart explained that he had four watches in his bag, left it in a hotel room and returned to find it gone. “I did get robbed with no gun,'' he said. "If I can replace the watches, that’ll be nice.”
McBride was looking forward to an expansion of the games and a nice trip to Europe.
“Definitely, I mean, I don’t know if I’m supposed to say it, NBA Europe coming, all this other stuff,” he said. “We’re definitely paying attention to what Europe is doing. I guess we’re just following a little behind. I like it, put us over there in Paris and Barcelona, a little round robin. Put us over there for like 10 days, maybe in Italy.”
Bench hole
While the Knicks' starters have been improving, the lineup changes and injury absences have limited production from the bench. Until the final minutes Wednesday, Jordan Clarkson was the only player off the bench to score.
One addition this season who has struggled to find his place is Guerschon Yabusele. After averaging 11.0 points per game last season for Philadelphia, he is producing only 2.6 points for the Knicks. His three-point shooting has dropped from 38.0% last season to 26.7% now.
The limited minutes this season have made it difficult to find a rhythm, he said.
“Of course it is,” Yabusele said. “I can’t lie about it. Today is a different situation. Of course, I was playing more minutes last year, too. I’m just trying to fit in my new role and be the best I can. I really try to not think about this stuff, try not to overthink. I just try to go out there and play, whenever it’s just a couple minutes, or sometimes it’s more minutes, I just try to go out there, try to catch a rhythm and be prepared.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
