Knicks return to 2024 starting lineup with return of OG Anunoby, Jazz accelerator 146-112

The Knicks welcomed OG Anunoby back Friday night after the wing missed three weeks with a hamstring injury, but the situation he found himself in returning to wasn’t the one he left. In his place, Josh Hart had returned to the starting lineup and regained his old magic as the Knicks had won six of their last eight games. When Anunoby’s return was announced, there were a lot of questions about who would start and how the pieces would fit together perfectly.

For one night, the answer was a resounding “Right,” as the Knicks battled to a 146-112 victory over the Utah Jazz at Madison Square Garden.

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Before Anunoby’s injury, the 28-year-old winger thrived in new coach Mike Brown’s system. Anunoby averaged 15.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.9 steals per game, shooting 47.6 percent from the field and 39.2 percent from beyond the arc. He played elite defense on the wing and, through 12 games, appeared on track to be selected to his first career All-Star Game.

But not all of his teammates were equally successful.

The start of the year hasn’t been kind to Josh Hart. Going into the season, there were some questions about the man who seemingly never left the field under the previous coach, Tom Thibodeau. With a new Sheriff in town, it was announced that Mitchell Robinson would be moving into the starting lineup, pushing Karl-Anthony Towns to the power forward role and moving Josh Hart to the bench. Then, in training camp, Hart aggravated a nerve injury in the ring finger of his shooting hand, which caused the finger to swell and go numb, obviously affecting his shooting and ball-handling. Hart decided to delay surgery until after the season, but the results were not good early in the year.

In the first 10 games of the season, Hart averaged 8.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 0.8 steals in 23.8 minutes a night. He shot 44.4% from the field (33.3% from deep) with an effective field goal percentage of 51%. On top of his offensive struggles, he was posting an unusually poor defensive rating of 116.1 and a player impact estimate of 10.1, which is kind of like basketball’s version of WAR (Wins Above Replacement). He seemed frustrated with his performance and his role, and there was some concern that he might not adapt to Mike Brown’s new system as he had with Thibodeau.

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However, the Knicks were 7-3 in those games. Mitchell Robinson was proving himself to be perhaps the best offensive rebounder in the league, and the new offensive system that emphasized ball movement and a drive-and-kick philosophy had led to strong starts for Anunoby and Bridges. It looked like things would continue that way, until Anunoby hurt his hamstring just five minutes into an NBA Cup game against the Miami Heat on Nov. 14.

That match proved to be a turning point for Hart. The 30-year-old has been asked to play more minutes with Jalen Brunson already out with an ankle injury and Anunoby out of the game. But Hart responded, posting a triple-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists as the Knicks won 140-132.

Over the next nine games, including the NBA Cup, Hart averaged 15.7 points, 9.4 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 1.8 steals in 34.3 minutes per game. He shot 55.3% from the field (45% from deep) with an effective field goal percentage of 65%. His Defensive Rating also improved to 113.7 and his Player Impact Rating rose to 14.6.

His performance did not go unnoticed coach Mike Brown blamed himself for Hart’s poor start: “I’ll take the blame… The hard part was, even taking a step back, [Hart] I didn’t really play in the pre-season; he didn’t even really train in the preseason. So for me, I was behind the eight ball and really trying to figure out how to incorporate that into what we’re trying to do. It just took time and he was extremely patient with the process…His sacrifice was incredible because when I took him out, he just sat. When I called his number, he came out and played. But more importantly, his trust in the process, even if he thought I was wrong, was fantastic.

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This belief was not only rewarded with improved performances, but also with a return to the starting lineup. Hart started the final five games heading into Friday’s contest, and Coach Brown credited his coaching staff with helping him adjust: “You know, I had reasons why I started different [with Hart coming off the bench]” Brown explained after Wednesday’s win against the Hornets. “But my staff, I think everyone, was like, ‘Hey, these are the reasons why this would be better.’ And the reality is that I simply listened to my staff. I said: Ok, if I’m the only one who thinks another way might be better at that moment, then maybe I’m wrong.

Given all of this, when Anunoby was cleared to play tonight, Coach Brown decided to start Hart alongside him, pushing Robinson to the bench and using the starting lineup the Knicks had used for much of the 2024-25 season. While some of that may have been influenced by the fact that Robinson himself doesn’t appear to be 100% healthy, it was also a nod to how well Hart had played and how much he means to the team.

For one night, against a subpar Jazz team, the new/old starting lineup worked. The Knicks led 23-0 entering the game and never looked back.

Neither Hart nor Anunoby made much of an impact on the offensive end of that first quarter. Hart scored two points but grabbed three rebounds and dished out an assist, while Anunoby scored three points with no other stats. More importantly, the offense was clearly good and both players were solid defensively. Anunoby would finish with 11 points, one assist and no rebounds in 23 rusty minutes. However, he was back on the field, and that was what mattered most.

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“It felt good,” Anunoby said after the game about returning to the court. “I missed playing with my teammates. I missed the fans. I missed it, it was really fun to play.”

Hart finished with eight points, six rebounds, six assists and one steal in 28 minutes. Most of the Knicks’ starters sat out the fourth quarter, with not a single starter playing in the final eight minutes of the game.

Ultimately, it was a game against one of the weakest teams in the NBA, but it appears the Knicks are settling for life with Hart and Anunoby once again among the starters. Overall, that formation was the eighth most effective five-man formationbased on net rating, of any lineup the Knicks used for at least 60 minutes last season. There were only 12 teams qualified. That lineup also had the third-worst defensive rating.

Yet, coming into Friday’s game, that same lineup had played 40 minutes together this season and had the fourth-highest net rating among the Knicks’ nine qualifying lineups. He also had the fourth-best defensive rating.

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Perhaps in a new system, this five-man lineup could have new life. Looks like we’ll have a chance to find out.