Miles McBride steps up in increased opportunity

When Knicks star Jalen Brunson got injured in the first minute of their Sunday night game against the Cavaliers, someone had to step up. There was cause for concern, as Brunson needed to be helped off the floor. Initial testing has been positive for the Knicks All-Star, and it appears he has avoided serious injury.

With Brunson off the floor, Miles McBride checked into the game at the 11:13 mark of the first quarter and never checked back out. The Knicks guard put up 16 points, five assists, and was +11 in 47 minutes of action. He was the trusted guard off the bench for Tom Thibodeau and delivered in a game New York needed.

In the fourth quarter, McBride scored six points, hitting two timely three-pointers to extend the Knicks lead. After Cleveland’s Sam Merrill hit a three to cut New York’s lead to 96-91, McBride answered with a triple of his own to extend the lead to 99-91 with just under six minutes left. He would hit the final dagger, a three-pointer with 33 seconds left, to put New York up 107-98, completing a great short-handed victory.

The victory helped the Knicks stay afloat as the fourth seed in a very tight Eastern Conference. New York is only two games ahead of the eighth-place Indiana Pacers. Cleveland is 3.5 games in front of the Knicks for the three-seed. With over 20 games left in the season, there is still a lot to be determined.

After the game, McBride credited his coach for having a lot of faith in him.

It’s been an up-and-down third season for the 36th overall pick in the 2021 draft, but the Knicks clearly like what they’ve got in the 23-year-old. A path to more playing time was cleared when the Knicks traded guard Immanuel Quickley to the Raptors. In 12 February games, the Knicks guard averaged 23.3 minutes, as the Knicks have been dealing with injuries. He didn’t shoot it well but managed to average nearly ten points per game, along with a steal. The Knicks were bad on defense in February, but McBride did have the best defensive rating of any Knick who averaged at least 17 minutes per game in the second month of the year.

He’s shooting 40.1 percent from three this season and hit four of nine attempts in the Sunday night victory. McBride will continue to be valuable for the Knicks as they nurse back to full strength. He is a +0.5 in defensive box plus-minus this season and has good potential in spot minutes in a playoff series. On Sunday night, he finished with 118.9 offensive and 107.9 defensive ratings, bringing his net rating to +11.

Should Jalen Brunson be forced to miss any time, Miles McBride is set to benefit. In four games as a starter this season, McBride has averaged 17.5 points, 4.8 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.5 steals in 40 minutes per game.

McBride also had one of the highlights of the NBA season when he broke Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley’s ankles, leading to an easy layup.

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