New York Knicks backup point guard Miles “Deuce” McBride is beginning to blossom into a strong rotation piece for Tom Thibodeau. He’s had a pair of career games as the Knicks are back to their winning ways, having won four of the last five contests.
McBride was given his third consecutive start Saturday against the Brooklyn Nets where he played all 48 minutes and scored 26 points on 9-16 shooting and 6-12 from three. It was the second time in his last three games that he scored over 20 points, as he had a career-high 29 points against the Golden State Warriors last Monday and held Stephen Curry to just 4-13 from beyond the arc.
Knicks HC Tom Thibodeau has full trust in McBride
In that same span, McBride has sat on the bench for a total of just five minutes. His brother, Trey, jokingly commented on X about the sudden jump in minutes that Miles has received from Thibodeau this season.
Evidently, Thibodeau’s trust in the 23-year-old guard has increased tenfold. With the injuries to OG Anunoby and Julius Randle, the Knicks have been searching for a way to make up for the loss of spacing. Before Monday, Thibodeau had opted to start Precious Achiuwa and Isaiah Hartenstein in the frontcourt with the injured roster, but this created a hole for perimeter scoring.
So far, the switch from Achiuwa to McBride has brought back the enhanced spacing, and while it is a smaller lineup than they would ideally like to run, it has worked up to this point and led to some massive wins as the season winds down.
The Knicks have gotten exceptional value out of McBride’s contract
With this production, McBride has earned every penny of the three-year, $13 million contract extension he signed back in December, and the Knicks have gotten nothing but positive value out of that deal as well.
“The thing is you, there’s nothing that you don’t love about Deuce,” said Thibodeau via the New York Post. “From the moment we drafted him and even when he wasn’t playing, that tells you a lot because of the way he worked. A guy’s work ethic is a big part of it, too. His drive … so it’s a credit to him. He’s in phenomenal shape. He stays in phenomenal shape. He takes care of himself. So I think he has the ability to do it [long minutes].”
McBride will look to keep his hot shooting streak alive when he and the Knicks take on the Detroit Pistons on Monday.
Follow this writer on X: @DylanBacker_