{"id":715828,"date":"2026-04-22T11:57:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T11:57:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/715828\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T11:57:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T11:57:27","slug":"mike-brown-doubles-down-on-problematic-knicks-lineup-after-game-2-dud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/715828\/","title":{"rendered":"Mike Brown doubles down on problematic Knicks lineup after Game 2 dud"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New York Knicks used to start the second and fourth quarters with lineups of reserves led by All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns. Late in the regular season, though, head coach Mike Brown shifted relatively heavily toward playing lineups<\/a> that featured neither Towns nor Jalen Brunson \u2013\u00a0the Knicks’ other All-Star.<\/p>\n

In the first 305 minutes those lineups played, the Knicks lost by 63 points. But after March 1, the group was a +32 in their 167 minutes of action. Especially given that that last stretch of the season was when the Knicks had seemingly elevated their operation to playoff-level intensity, the productivity seemingly led Brown to keep it rolling into the postseason. <\/p>\n

That might have come around to bite New York, helping lead to their Game 2 loss at Madison Square Garden on Monday night. Brown was asked after the game about the multiple lineups he deployed without either one of the team’s typically-staggered star talent. And the coach doubled down<\/a> on leaving OG Anunoby as the only starter on the court and veteran sharpshooter Landry Shamet to initiate offense.<\/p>\n

Brown deflects blame for Game 2 loss from Knicks’ reserves<\/p>\n

It’s certainly not written in stone, but Brown didn’t sound like a coach ready to abandon the lineup he’s been starting every other quarter with. Asked about what he saw in those minutes, the coach said he didn’t think those stretches were entirely responsible for the Knicks letting the game slip away.<\/a><\/p>\n

“We’ve played that lineup quite a bit, since the end of the season. That lineup’s been pretty good. We weren’t good tonight, and we turned the ball over a few too many times during that period. But we had opportunities where our starters were in, and we were up 8 to 10, and Atlanta closed it,” Brown told reporters after the game, according to ClutchPoints.<\/p>\n

The coach pointing out the advantage the Knicks had when he put both of his star players back in the game felt like more than a simple acknowledgement of fact. It was, in as kind of a manner as possible, recognition from Brown that it wasn’t just the guys from the bench unit that allowed the Hawks to creep back in the game \u2013 and eventually win it. The starters certainly played a role as well.<\/p>\n

Brown didn’t help his guys out much by continuing to roll with the rotational shifts that involve Anunoby and reserves needing to keep New York’s dreams afloat<\/a>. But, like he said after the loss, they definitely didn’t help themselves either.<\/p>\n

The coach might still ditch the lineup and go back to staggering his stars. But if he doesn’t, the pressure will keep mounting on his bench unit. Especially when all of them have the spotlight.<\/p>\n

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