Takeaways from New York’s drubbing of the Dubs

The New York Knicks (41-27) delivered a commanding 119-112 performance against the Golden State Warriors (35-32) on Monday night. Despite missing OG Anunoby, who was sidelined due to an elbow flare-up, the Knicks thrived with a smaller lineup. Miles McBride’s inclusion at shooting guard paid off brilliantly, as he notched a career-best 29 points on 9-of-13 shooting, including 6-of-9 from beyond the arc. He also broke Stephen Curry’s spirit in ways that few humans can. Read Kento Kato’s appreciation piece here.

Isaiah Hartenstein made his presence felt, too, with 13 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and a game-high plus/minus of +26. Meanwhile Josh Hart recorded another triple-double, playing all 48 minutes, and Jalen Brunson led all scorers with 34 points on 12-of-25 shooting. Despite a late surge by the Warriors, the Knicks maintained their lead from buzzer to buzzer to clinch one of the most satisfying wins of their season. Here are some top-of-mind takeaways from the game.

The Knicks successfully targeted Curry

Steph Curry had a decent statistical performance with 27 points (most of any Warrior), five rebounds, and five assists in 33 minutes of play. However, despite his numbers, he had little impact on the game. The Warriors were already trailing by double digits before Curry scored, and he didn’t make a field goal until well into the second quarter. While his stats look solid on paper, those numbers had little influence on the game.

Credit goes to Deuce McBride for harassing the future Hall of Famer. He held Curry to 8-of-20 shooting from the floor (40%) and 4-of-13 from deep (31%). The following clip from Teg shows how Deuce did it. More on McBride below.

Josh Hart excelled despite poor shooting percentages

One of Thibs’ half-dozen rote phrases is something like “You don’t have to shoot well to play well.” Case in point: Josh Hart’s box score last night.

Hart finished last night’s game with 10 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists, despite shooting 5-of-18 (28%) from the field and a clangy 0-of-6 from beyond the arc. His true shooting was 28% but he was no liability, and Tom Thibodeau could not afford to sit Hart, not for a single minute. The indefatigable wing was too essential to the team’s success.

Random notes: Josh committed just three fouls and two turnovers, despite being involved in nearly every offensive and defensive possession for the entire 48 minutes. He has logged 40 or more minutes in 15 games this season. Hart has had a double-digit game score* 29 times on the current campaign. And he has appeared in 67 of 68 games this season, recording a non-negative +/- in 42 of them.

I once heard about how certain milestones in track and field are inconceivable until they’re broken and, after that, multiple athletes start beating the new benchmark like it warn’t nothin. For example, the four-minute mile was considered nearly impossible until Roger Bannister clocked it in 1954. By 2022, at least 1,755 runners had bested his time. Watching Josh Hart go from never hanging a triple-double to five in the past two-ish months reminded me of the four-minute mile. If he finishes the season with ten, will you be all that shocked?

Deuce McBride > Quentin Grimes

Is that too salty? Forgive me for feeling too good about the tenacious young fella. McBride’s performance on Monday was a revelation and such a reassuring rebound from his ugly Saturday night game in Sacramento when he only managed one shot against the taller Kings.

Indeed, starting as the two guard in a small ball setting, Deuce was straight alpha in ways that Quentin Grimes never could be. Sure, we had high hopes for Grimes. He fit the profile of the perfect 3&D wing for the Knicks and although his highlights were heavenly—that one-legged steal from Jimmy Butler in the playoffs is an all-time clip—they were too few and far between. When he started for New York this season, Quentin couldn’t figure out how to harmonize with the offense and then complained about his limited role. Trading him to Detroit in January produced melancholy feelings in the heart about misspent talent, but the head understood that his time was up at MSG.

Deuce McBride? That cat don’t kvetch. He continues to make the most of his opportunities and put his personal stamp on every defensive possession. That’s what made his goose egg against the Kings so worrisome: he can be a massive asset for the Knicks this postseason and beyond, but if he can’t adjust against taller players, his talent will be relegated to the bench. On Monday night, we witnessed the complete package, from his sniper shooting to his sneaky lane penetration to his handcuff defense. He’s a true Mountaineer!

One of Cal Newport’s books is called So Good They Can’t Ignore You. Deuce McBride could have been a case study in it. Here’s a second clip from Teg (thank you) that will give you the flavor of just how good Miles was last night. Enjoy your Tuesday, Knicks fans.

* Per NBAStuffer.com: “Game Score is a player evaluation metric which can be considered John Hollinger’s simple and linear version of the Player Efficiency Rating. Game Score does not make any adjustments like PER does for team pace. It simply adds and subtracts the box score statistics, according to the various weights Hollinger has chosen.”