Can the Knicks’ Starters Break the 0-2 Curse, or Is a Deeper Crisis Unfolding?

The New York Knicks unleashed a starting five that looks, on paper, like a squad built to make serious noise in this postseason — Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, both shining All-NBA talents, anchor the lineup alongside rugged, two-way defenders OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart. Coach Tom Thibodeau has doubled down on this group, trusting them with heavy minutes during the opening two games of the Eastern Conference Finals. But here’s the rub: despite the star power, this quintet hasn’t just been outplayed — they’ve been thoroughly schooled. After dropping both games at Madison Square Garden, the Knicks’ starters find themselves saddled with a brutal -42.9 net rating and a leaky 155.1 defensive rating, dragging the entire team down to a dismal -8 overall. Opponents, led by the Pacers, have recycled a simple, effective blueprint — force Towns out of the paint with wings, stick a shot-blocker on Hart and dare him to shoot, and blitz Brunson and Towns in pick-and-rolls. The Knicks have shown glimpses of life when shaking up this starting five, especially with Mitchell Robinson returning, but stubbornness from the coaching side keeps this struggling lineup intact. With the series slipping away 0-2 in front of a home crowd, the pressing question looms large: Is it finally time for New York to rethink its foundation and break up what was supposed to be a contender’s core? The clock is ticking — and if adjustments don’t come fast, the Knicks might be packing for Cancun instead of celebrating a comeback. LEARN MORE

When Mitchell Robinson was out the first half of the season recovering from ankle surgery, Thibodeau commonly said the team was playing without its starting center. It may be time to put words into action and start two bigs, Robinson and Towns. That duo is +27 for the playoffs (in 106 minutes) and +3 against the Pacers through two games.“Collectively, we gotta get it together,” Brunson said. “That’s really it.Here is Pascal Siakam scoring in a different way against every NYK starterBecause of this starting five, the Knicks are down 0-2 to the Pacers, having dropped both games in Madison Square Garden.

Anunoby – ghosting the switch
Bridges – pop-and-drive
Hart – jab-and-go out of the post
Brunson – transition cross-match iso
KAT – retreat dribble iso step-backOn paper, the New York Knicks roll out a contender-level starting five — and coach Tom Thibodeau leans hard into this group, playing them 21.5 minutes a night through the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals.The starting five puts the Knicks in a hole to start every game — it was 19-9 in Game 2 Friday — and then New York spends a chunk of the game just trying to get back in it. That lineup is shooting just 29.6% from 3 against the Pacers, which isn’t helping the comeback cause, but even when they close the gap, it’s time and energy spent to have to do it.“We’re just putting ourselves in a deficit, and I told you how we can’t keep doing that,” Towns said after the Game 2 loss. “It’s not every time we’re gonna be able to fight back and find ourselves with a win, so, you know, just gotta execute and be more disciplined.”“We always look at everything,” Thibodeau said as a non-answer to that question.Thibodeau is stubborn and stuck with this group when it wasn’t working well in the first two playoff series — they were just +3 in six games against Detroit and -24 in six games against Boston. The starting five’s problems go back further than that, this lineup was an unimpressive -9 from Jan. 1 through the end of the season. It just feels worse in this series because the Knicks are losing and because Thibodeau is getting outcoached by Rick Carlisle. The players get it. Here is a collection of their postgame quotes (via James Edwards at The Athletic and Dan DeVine at Yahoo Sports.“I think it’s a defensive thing,” Bridges said. “Sometimes you’re so in that you have to go back and watch the game, but we just have to talk to each other off the jump. We have to be physical off the jump. I think, maybe, we’re playing a little too soft in the beginning of the halves.”That lineup is also getting outplayed. Badly. They are -29 through two games against the Pacers, a series where the Knicks as a team are -8. The starting five has a -42.9 net rating and an atrocious 155.1 defensive rating.Indiana isn’t doing anything different tactically than nearly every other team has done: Guard Towns with a wing because he isn’t going to punish them in the post, and put a rim-protecting center on Josh Hart and leave him open to shoot 3-pointers. When opponents have the ball, they target Towns and Brunson in pick-and-rolls. It’s a strategy teams have used against New York all season and there is no reason to change it up — it’s working.Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, two All-NBA players, are the headliners. OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart are all high-level, two-way NBA starters.The Knicks have looked better with their starting five broken up and Mitchell Robinson on the court. Miles McBride is also having a strong series off the New York bench.