Knicks' Mike Brown Comments on Possible Starting Lineup Change After Game 3 Loss

The New York Knicks have one of the NBA's most talented rosters, but head coach Mike Brown has not maximized it since getting hired last offseason.

The Knicks finished as the third seed in the Eastern Conference after the regular season, three games behind the Boston Celtics for second despite star forward Jayson Tatum playing just 16 games for the latter team. Now, they're down 2-1 in their first-round playoff series against the sixth-seeded Atlanta Hawks, who traded star point guard Trae Young for guards CJ McColllum and Corey Kispert midseason.

New York beat Atlanta 113-102 at Madison Square Garden in Game 1 before losing Game 2 107-106 and Game 3 109-108. Now, it must win Saturday's Game 4 on the road to avoid a 3-1 deficit.

One adjustment Brown could make is removing forward Mikal Bridges from the starting lineup, who has scored no points (0-7 FG, 0-5 3-point) with one rebound, two assists, four turnovers, and a -37 plus/minus over the last six quarters. The 56-year-old commented on his lineup plans for Game 4 on Friday, via The Athletic's Fred Katz.

Brown said that "Anything is on the table," and the lineup will be a "game-time decision."

Mike Brown said the starting lineup for Game 4 will be a game-time decision. "Anything is on the table," he said.

— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) April 24, 2026

Data Reveals Solution for Knicks' Problems

Although Brown may be trying to keep the Hawks guessing by not revealing his cards pregame, it's clear that New York could benefit from starting Miles McBride over Bridges in Game 4. The 25-year-old scored 15 points (5-14 FG, 5-10 3-point) with one rebound, two steals, and one assist over 31 minutes in Thursday's Game 3.

The Knicks' starting lineup of point guard Jalen Brunson, guard Josh Hart, Bridges, forward OG Anunoby, and center Karl-Anthony Towns was -11 with a -54.1 net rating in 8:36 of game time on Thursday, per Locked On Knicks. When McBride was in for Bridges, the lineup was +24 in 14:18 with a +76 net rating. The latter lineup was also the second-best in basketball last season (minimum 100 possessions).

Additionally, New York could use its big men more. Towns is averaging just 33.7 minutes this series despite being one of the best offensive bigs in the sport, while Mitchell Robinson is averaging just 14.7 despite being a top-class rim protector and rebounder. For reference, the latter played with 13th in the NBA with 8.8 rebounds per game over just 19.6 minutes in the regular season and averaged 1.2 blocks. Plus, Towns was fifth among centers with a 50.1% field goal clip (minimum 13 shot attempts per game).

Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. ET on NBA/Peacock on Saturday.

Related: Knicks' Mikal Bridges Addresses Missed Game-Winner Over Hawks

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This story was originally published April 24, 2026 at 2:23 PM.