For Alvarado specifically, this was the first time since he got traded to New York at the deadline that he didn\u2019t play in the first half of a contest.<\/p>\n
\u201cI went with the combination of Landry (Shamet) and (Miles McBride) as the backup point guards,\u201d Brown told reporters after the 136-96 win. \u201cWe got those two guys out there; I wanted to take a look at that. Jose has done a fantastic job for us, but part of it is that we haven\u2019t had a lot of healthy guards. Jose stepped in and did a nice job. (McBride) is getting healthier, and Landry is getting healthy. I\u2019m trying to find minutes for those guys, because those guys are capable of playing that spot. That\u2019s going to be a priority for me, because they\u2019ve proven themselves for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
With four games remaining in the Knicks\u2019 regular season, I\u2019m going to give my thoughts on how I believe Brown will use his players in New York\u2019s first playoff game.<\/p>\n
Starters will remain starters, unless \u2026<\/p>\n
There\u2019s an old saying: \u201cIf it ain\u2019t broke, don\u2019t fix it.\u201d The Knicks have taken that, remixed it and created their own version that goes: \u201cIf it\u2019s not working, keep doing it until it hopefully does.\u201d<\/p>\n
New York has two years of sample size now to suggest that the starting lineup of Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and Towns doesn\u2019t work. This season alone, that five-man unit has played the third-most minutes of any lineup in the NBA and carries a plus-0.7 net rating. (Last year, the group had a plus-3.3 net rating while playing the most minutes together in the NBA.)<\/p>\n
For comparison, the Charlotte Hornets\u2019 starting lineup, which has played close to the same amount of minutes, has a plus-27.8 net rating. The Atlanta Hawks\u2019 starting lineup has a plus-23.9 net rating. The Detroit Pistons\u2019 starting lineup has a plus-11.8 net rating.<\/p>\n
The Knicks\u2019 starting lineup just hasn\u2019t been good enough as a collective, especially when you factor in the resources used to put it together, and yet New York has had two different coaches stick with it for the duration of the regular season.<\/p>\n
Brown has threatened to change this group, but he hasn\u2019t done it yet. With so few games remaining in the regular season, it seems more unlikely that he\u2019ll do it before the playoffs.<\/p>\n
Unless \u2026<\/p>\n
The Knicks\u2019 four remaining games are all against postseason-caliber teams. It\u2019s possible that New York doesn\u2019t face the best versions of those teams if playoff seeding starts to sort itself out in the final week. However, if the Knicks\u2019 starting lineup once again puts up a stinker Monday night against the red-hot Hawks \u2014 and is a big reason New York loses its sixth straight game against winning teams \u2014 I could see Brown making a change. I\u2019m not guaranteeing he will, but the Knicks would have two days between their Hawks matchup and their Thursday meeting against the Boston Celtics. That would be the time to do it, considering the regular season ends on Sunday, and then New York will have time to practice between then and the start of the first round.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/USATSI_28639658-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n OG Anunoby (8) and Mikal Bridges have been contributors for a Knicks team looking to make a deep postseason run. (Petre Thomas\/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n
Massaging egos, surely, has played a part in why neither Brown nor Thibodeau made changes. Everyone in the starting lineup has either been a starter for the bulk of their careers, helped turn the franchise around or took a lot of resources to acquire. From a coach or front-office perspective, it might not be worth losing a player mentally in the regular season, even if the numbers suggest a change is needed. However, with the playoffs here and the seriousness ramped up a bit, Brown, in theory, has more leverage to look around and think, \u201cSo, do you guys want to win or not?\u201d and make the change if he feels it\u2019s necessary.<\/p>\n
It might end up being too late, and there\u2019s no guarantee that changing the starting lineup will help New York start games better. With that said, we know for a fact that the current starting lineup doesn\u2019t work together.<\/p>\n