There’s no denying it: the Knicks have a glaring starting lineup problem.
After New York’s road loss to the Hornets on Friday night, the team’s starting five is now a -78 this season when sharing the floor together, which they’ve done more than any other five-man group in the NBA this year.

That -78 is the worst by any five-man lineup in the league this year, while their collective defensive rating is currently the worst in NBA history.
Per StatMuse, the Knicks’ starting lineup of Julius Randle, RJ Barrett, Mitchell Robinson, Evan Fournier, and Kemba Walker are the worst collective unit in all of basketball, per +/-, and are on of 10 five-man lineups that have played at least 125 minutes together this season. New York is the only one that has a negative +/-, as the group continues to struggle to find chemistry with newcomers Fournier and Walker.
Barrett blossomed into a strong on-ball defender at the start of this season, but his off-the-ball defense has lagged behind, while Walker has struggled consistently on the defensive end. He was a -23 in Friday night’s loss against his former team, despite shooting 4-for-9 from downtown and finishing with 26 points.
Whether it’s the absence of Reggie Bullock, one of the team’s strongest defensive starters last year, or the group needing more time to come together, it has been killing the Knicks this season, but as head coach Tom Thibodeau said earlier this week, there are no plans to shake things up with his current lineups.
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