Will Knicks Adjust Starting Five For Josh Hart?

Hart's scorching start with the New York Knicks has some observers questioning the current starting five.

Changes to their usual starting lineup ... do the New York Knicks have the Hart?

For the time being, that doesn't appear to be the case. While some have suggested that trade deadline newcomer Josh Hart is a prime candidate to enter the opening five ... ostensibly in place of the struggling RJ Barrett ... head coach Tom Thibodeau doesn't appear to be on board with the concept as the Knicks prepare to embark on the 22-game push to the playoffs. The Knicks' boss is instead opting to leave starting concerns to the observers, instead choosing to focus on how the Knicks finish.

“I know to you guys it’s a big deal. To me, I don’t get wrapped up in that,” Thibodeau said, per Peter Botte of the New York Post. "Who’s going to finish is probably going to depend on how it’s going that night and who’s going well, that sort of thing. Everyone’s got to sacrifice for the team. (Hart) has always done that ... The team winning is the most important thing.”

The Knicks (33-27) are 3-0 since Hart came over from Portland, serving as one of the team's first options off the bench. He's averaging 17 points in that trio and is sinking 62 percent of his shots from the field. Hart previously made 51 starts with the Trail Blazers before the Knicks acquired his services, two short of his career-best set between Portland and New Orleans.

Though the Knicks moved into the sixth and final automatic Eastern Conference playoff spot with a 5-1 mark going into the All-Star break, Barrett struggled to the tune of shooting 36 percent from the field during five appearances in that span. It has generated some calls for Hart to take his spot in the starting five and work next to his former collegiate teammate Jalen Brunson, though the duo has collaborated during the final stages of the Knicks' narrow victories. 

Thibodeau says his problem, however, isn't finding five starters, but rather that he has too many worthy of inclusion for the limited spots. 

"To me, I don’t get wrapped up in that ... I look at (Immanuel) Quickley as a starter," Thibodeau said. "I look at Josh as a starter. We have a bunch of guys that are capable of starting."

The Knicks' most-recurring starting five has consisted of Brunson, Barrett, Julius Randle, Quentin Grimes, and Mitchell Robinson, who is inching closer toward a return from a finger injury. New York has amassed a 14-8 record when that five opens the game and now works with Hart, Quickley, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Obi Toppin coming off the bench. 

Their post-All-Star slate tips off on Friday when they battle the Washington Wizards on the road (7 p.m. ET, MSG). 

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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