Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau shook up his starting lineup for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, with Mitchell Robinson replacing Josh Hart. After New York staged a thrilling comeback to pick up its first win of the series, Hart revealed that not only is he OK with the change, it was actually his idea, writes Peter Botte of The New York Post (subscription required).
Hart told reporters that he made the suggestion during a meeting with Thibodeau after watching how well Robinson performed in Game 2.
“It was never going to be a tough day for me because I had a hand in that decision,” Hart said. “When I’m in a decision like that and kind of got the ball rolling on that, it was funny, y’all are scrambling, trying to get answers and I never really cared. Because it was kind of my decision. I was comfortable with it.”
Even though Hart came off the bench, he remained in his regular role for most of the night. He logged 34 minutes while contributing eight points and 10 rebounds, several of which came late in the fourth quarter to help seal the victory.
Robinson had six points, six rebounds and a blocked shot in 29 minutes and enabled the Knicks to avoid the slow starts they experienced in Games 1 and 2. The score was tied at 24-24 when he checked out for the first time with 1:10 left in the first quarter.
“It really didn’t impact either guy from a minutes standpoint. So to me, when Mitch was coming off the bench, he’s a starter coming off the bench. When Josh comes off the bench, he’s a starter coming off the bench,” Thibodeau said. “Their minutes are gonna be the same. And both guys mix and match. Both guys are comfortable with both units. The thing that I love about Josh is the unselfishness.”
Another benefit of the change was more time at power forward for Karl-Anthony Towns, who led the rally by scoring 20 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter.
Hart added that the seeds of Sunday’s move go back to the second-round series against the Celtics.
“This was a conversation that we had, that I’ve had before,” he said. “Actually I mentioned, I talked to a couple of people about it before Game 6 [against Boston], I was struggling with the matchup of Luke Kornet, and wasn’t able to really figure that out. Game 6 I had a pretty good game. But it was something that I’ve had in the back of my mind and I’ve always been willing to do. Down two [games], especially with how Mitch played last game, that was something that we had to do.”
Which of these former Big East trios would you rather have on your team if you could have them their entire career,
Josh Hart/Donte DiVincenzo/Mikal Bridges
Allen Iverson/Jerome Williams/Othella Harrington
Mark Jackson/Chris Mullin/Bill Wennington
Steph Castle/Cam Spencer/Donovan Clingan
Sherman Douglas/Billy Owens/Derrick Coleman
Rank a top3 if possible…
Hilarious that Hart had to suggest the change. Thibs isn’t capable enough to figure it out on his own.
Well this lineup change didnt do anything for them, playing Delon Wright and Shamet was way more impactful
In the 4 yrs before this one. Thibs Knicks teams have always been about team D. The team D kept them in the game. Then they found offense thru plays or a hot player. Made them a playoff team. This team went for more offense. KAT coming in gave them another 24 pts a game. Bridges another 20 a game.
This Knicks team is still a work in progress. So to be in East Finals. After one year of playing together. Is a success and big progress. Only Knicks fans know and appreciate this. Another thing this team has done all year. Is play till the end. They have bounced back after bad losses. Pacers have exposed a weakness in the Knicks. Knicks won’t roll over cause of it. They will regroup and come back to play. Like I said a work in progress. And the next job to do. Is win gm4. This is good basketball …. Try and enjoy it. I know I will. NYK
Out of all the four teams left in the playoffs. The Knicks have the least amount of gms played . By all their players on their team ……. This is what coaching looks like. Hating only stops you from learning. I learn all the time from this game.
Like this note (have not confirmed this yet). …
But I’m willing to say no team has ever reached this far in playoffs. With this amount of games played on their team by its players…. “In Thibs we Trust”
KAT ——- first yr here
Bridges — first yr here
OG —— first yr here. Played 23 last yr
Payne — first yr here
Shamet — first yr here
Achiuwa — first yr here. Played 49 gms last yr
D Wright — first yr here
Hukporti — first yr here
Kolek —- first yr here
Dadiet — first yr here
PJ Tucker — first yr here
Hart —- has been here 2yrs and 20 gms
McBride — has been with team 4 yrs
Brunson — has been here three yrs
Mitch — has been here 7 yrs
Of their 15 man playoff roster for 2024-25 NBA playoffs. The knicks have 11 first year players ….
ELEVEN 1st YEAR PLAYERS ….. learn something
In Thibs we Trust —— coaching —
Good moves by Thibs. I wanted Mitch moved to the starting lineup a while ago (but his physical readiness might have been an issue). In any event, it’s done now, and will hopefully stick, even thought the adjustments might not always be positive. I wasn’t a fan of the Wright acquisition when made (he looked finished in MIL), but, like Shamet, he’s been used perfectly here and has responded.
Unfortunately, the NYK giving away Game 1 is still the defining event in this series. Historically, it’s been hard to overcome that. Looks like they want to take their shot at it.