Knicks Make Bold Move: Mitchell Robinson Starts Game 3, Josh Hart Unfazed by Bench Shift

The New York Knicks found themselves in a 2-0 hole against the Indiana Pacers in the 2025 Eastern Conference finals, with their season teetering on the brink. In an effort to turn the tide, the team made a bold move ahead of Game 3 on Sunday night. Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau made a drastic change to the struggling starting lineup, elevating center Mitchell Robinson into the starting five for the first time this postseason and just the fourth time since his return from offseason ankle surgery in late February. Robinson's insertion bumped Josh Hart to the bench, ending a string of 140 straight appearances in which the do-it-all forward had been part of the starting unit. "I've been the 15th man, I've been the third man, I've been the sixth man, I've been whatever," Hart said at the Knicks' shootaround session before Game 3 on Sunday. "I truly feel like I'm a starter in the league. I think I played amazing this year. So, if he does [make a change]...cool." Despite the starting lineup talk, Hart's game remained unchanged. "I can't sit here and preach about sacrifice and getting out of our own personal agendas and all that, and then, if a decision like that is made, then be mad at it, and not want to sacrifice," he added. "That's not the kind of person that I am. So, if Thibs does that—which, I don't know if he is or isn't—I'm all for it. I'm gonna play my game, my minutes, my style, no matter if I'm coming off the bench or starting." The move is a dramatic shift for Thibodeau, who has ridden his preferred starting five—Hart, Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, and Mikal Bridges—more often than any coach in the NBA and has kept it intact whenever all five players are available to play. It comes after the starters once again struggled against the Pacers in Game 2.