Knicks Drop Third Straight

Final Score: Knicks 99 - Heat 109 
Record: 44-31

Look, there are plenty of reasons to be pessimistic. 

The shorthanded Knicks have lost three in a row. Their starting forwards remain sidelined, which means the guys on the active roster have been asked to shoulder an extraordinarily heavy load. Instead of hoping to maybe catch the Bucks at the two-seed (as was the case six days ago), NY's primary goal now is to avoid dropping to the seven-slot and slipping into the dreaded Pay-In Tournament. 

So, yeah, Knicks fans don't have to look too far to find stuff to stress about. 

With that in mind, let's start today's post with some positives. 

Miles McBride had another impressive performance in NY's loss to Miami on Tuesday night. In 44 minutes, he scored 24 points (9-of-16 FGs, 2-of-2 FTs), two rebounds, two assists, one block, and four 3-pointers.

As we've noted in this space before, Deuce seemed unlikely to be part of the Knicks' rotation in 2023-24 after New York inked Donte DiVincenzo to a long-term contract last summer. And McBride rarely saw meaningful minutes over the season's first three months. He re-entered the rotation in January after RJ and IQ were shipped to Toronto in exchange for OG, but then NY traded for Alec Bruks and Bojan Bogdanovic. Still, Deuce kept plugging away and chipping in when the opportunity arose. 

Then, when Anunoby re-injured his elbow in mid-March, McBride was surprisingly thrust into the starting lineup (he had logged just 11 minutes and attempted just one shot in NY's previous game in Sacramento). We may look back on this unexpected turn of events as a turning point in McBride's career. 

Over his first 129 games in the NBA, Deuce had never scored more than 18 points in a single contest and averaged 3.1 PPG (on 34% shooting).

Over New York's past eight games, Deuce is averaging 19.8 points, 3.4 assists, 1.5 steals, and 4.0 made three-pointers while shooting a scorching 51.4% from the floor, 46.4% from downtown and 94.1% from the free-throw stripe. The only other players in the league averaging at least 19 ppg and shooting above 50% from the field and 45% from three-point territory during this stretch are LeBron James and Paul George.

In addition to his drastically improved efficiency from behind the arc, Deuce is also unlocking other parts of his game, including attacking close-outs and getting to the tin.

Keep in mind that McBride has posted these impressive offensive numbers while also defending the other team's best perimeter scorer on a nightly basis.

It's just eye-opening stuff from a player who will be a key contributor for New York for years to come—on an insanely cheap salary. 

These past few weeks have been torturous in many respects for Knicks fans, but McBride's emergence is an undeniably encouraging silver lining.