INDIANAPOLIS — The Knicks are leaning toward putting Mitchell Robinson in the starting lineup for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, per SNY sources.
The Knicks’ starting five of Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns has been outscored by 29 points in the first two games of the series. The lineup has been outscored by a total of 50 points in the postseason.
After the Knicks’ Game 2 loss to Indiana on Friday night, Tom Thibodeau said, “we always look at everything,” in response to a question about changing the lineup. New York is down 0-2 to the Pacers after losing the first two games at home.
If the Knicks were to insert Robinson in the lineup, Hart would play Game 3 off the bench.
New York would also need to fill Robinson’s role off of the bench. Precious Achiuwa is the most logical candidate.
Robinson has been a force inside during the postseason. Entering Game 3, Robinson had an 18 percent offensive rebounding rate. The next-highest offensive rebounding percentage among players in the conference finals is the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert at 10 percent.
The Knicks’ net rating with Robinson on the floor is +8.6. He’s averaging 20 minutes per game.
Moving Robinson to the starting lineup would shift Towns to power forward. It would give the Knicks a similar alignment to the 2023-24 Timberwolves. On that team, Towns played mostly power forward alongside Gobert at center.
CP The Fanchise of KnicksFanTV earlier reported that the Knicks were strongly considering a lineup change ahead of Game 3. I don’t know if the Knicks are fully committed to a lineup change. But if their thinking prior to tipoff on Sunday remains the same as it was on Saturday, Robinson will start at center.
This move would allow New York to play Hart and Miles McBride together off the bench. Hart can handle the ball and has been shooting well from the perimeter. Entering Game 3, Hart is shooting 41 percent from beyond the arc. He shot 33 percent in the regular season.
Of course, any lineup move comes with inherent risk. But New York is facing long odds in the Eastern Conference Finals. Only six of the 82 teams to lose the first two games of a conference finals came back to win the series.
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