Knicks Must Maximize Miles McBride Next Season

Miles “Deuce” McBride, a fan favorite and homegrown second-round pick, is the kind of player NBA fans love to root for.

Championship-caliber teams usually have one role player who can do a bit of everything. Between starting, coming off the bench, shooting threes and playing consistent defense, McBride plays that role of Swiss army knife for the Knicks and has become a key piece of their new core. If the Knicks want to win an NBA championship, Miles McBride must fill a role similar to Payton Pritchard, Cason Wallace, and Bruce Brown from recent title teams.

As new head coach Mike Brown begins to structure his rotations, determining where McBride fits in is crucial for this upcoming season.

More Minutes for McBride

When evaluating McBride’s development and his place in the rotation, looking back at Tom Thibodeau’s decisions is key.

Thibodeau underused McBride all season, never gave him a chance in the starting lineup, and experimented very little with him alongside Jalen Brunson. Last season, one of the best Knicks lineups with McBride featured Brunson, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, and Karl-Anthony Towns, producing a +34.5 point differential in only 84 minutes.

The unfortunate part is that Thibodeau never used this lineup in the playoffs. Despite McBride playing 693 minutes with Brunson in the regular season, he never logged over 180 minutes alongside New York’s superstar in the postseason. McBride’s minutes also dropped from 24 per game in the regular season to 18 per game in the playoffs. The biggest change for McBride under Mike Brown is pairing him with Brunson more often while featuring Hart less.

The additions of Guerschon Yabusele and Jordan Clarkson should allow the Knicks to give Hart, Anunoby, and Mikal Bridges more rest. The amount of lineup combinations should open the door for McBride to play alongside better spacing, as long as Hart and Mitchell Robinson are not overused.