Knicks coach Mike Brown winds up starting Tom Thibodeau's preferred lineup
Former Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau and current Knicks coach Mike Brown. Credit: Getty Images/Luke Hales; Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Mike Brown had his own issues last season, losing his job in Sacramento as the team he’d helped bring to relevance imploded. But as he arrived in New York, it was hard for him not to be aware of the criticism his predecessor endured for sticking with a five-man unit he believed in for more than five times as many minutes as the next-most-used combination was on the floor.
Fans griped. Some media criticized. And finally, in the playoffs, Tom Thibodeau relented and changed things up.
But with the return of OG Anunoby from a hamstring injury on Friday night giving Brown the first chance to go with that exact starting lineup since elevating Josh Hart from the bench, he put that well-acquainted five-man lineup on the floor to face the Utah Jazz at Madison Square Garden.
The results, well, they were hard to argue with on this night. With Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges joining Anunoby and Hart, the Knicks took a 10-0 lead before Anunoby went to the bench for a breather, and they extended it to 23-0 after only 6:07. By the end of the first quarter, the Knicks (15-7) had built a 28-point lead — the largest first-quarter margin for the franchise since tracking data began in the 1996-97 season — and they stretched the advantage to 41 points during a 47-point third quarter in a 146-112 win.
Anunoby had been sidelined for three weeks since suffering the injury on Nov. 14. Getting him back on the shorter end of some predictions was good news in itself. But during his absence, Brown made changes, first elevating Landry Shamet into the starting lineup and then Deuce McBride and finally Hart and McBride. But with Anunoby back, Brown went with the familiar, comfortable lineup.
It’s not without good reason. The group of Anunoby, Hart, Brunson, Bridges and Towns led the Knicks to a 31-17 mark in the games they played together last season, the first in New York for Bridges and Towns and the first full season with the Knicks for Anunoby.
Perhaps this wasn’t the best test with the Jazz (8-14) on the back end of a back-to-back set, but before Brown got here, there was plenty of evidence that this group can succeed together.
The minutes for Anunoby were limited Friday — he scored 11 points in 22:43 — but it was hard to tell, as only Brunson topped 30 minutes, shooting 6-for-9 from three-point range and scoring 33 points in 30:51. McBride, who was removed from the starting lineup to make room for Anunoby, sank a season-high seven three-pointers in 10 attempts and scored 22 points in 21:43.
Thibodeau put that group on the floor for 940 minutes and 43 seconds in the 2024-25 regular season, compiling a 3.3 net rating. The next-most-used lineup came with McBride in place of Brunson, mainly because of the time that Brunson missed with a sprained ankle. That lineup was on the floor together for just 185 minutes and 36 seconds.
“Yeah, they played well together last year,” Brown said. “So I did look at that. But again, I’m not, whether it’s right or wrong, not a huge proponent of starting the five guys that are going to end the game. To me, who ends the game is a much bigger deal. But at the end of the day, if something is best for our team, then I’m going to try to go that direction.”
The most effective lineup for the 2024-25 Knicks — in a small sample size — came with Mc-Bride playing alongside Brunson, Hart, Anunoby and Towns, putting together a net rating of 34.4 in 84 minutes, five seconds.
The Knicks got much better when Anunoby arrived at midseason two years ago this month, and they already have shown marked improvement since Hart moved into the starting lineup this season, going 6-1. In 40 minutes entering Friday night, the combination had put up a net rating of 24.2.
“I look at lineup data,” Brown said. “What I try to do is match certain combinations together with their skill sets based on offensively, defensively whether the guy is stronger on this side of the ball or that side of the ball, then trying to keep a certain amount of size on the floor, trying to keep a guy on the floor that can be pretty good on the ball if needed. Those are kind of the things I look for, mixing and matching these different lineups. But I’m not hesitant to look at any data at all. Sometimes the eye test can be wrong just like the data can be misleading.”
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.
