Miles McBride confident he can solve Knicks’ greatest weakness…
The Knicks’ greatest weakness proper now is the place Miles McBride is confident he can assist out and be elite.
He put it merely.
“I know I can be one of the best point-of-attack defenders in the NBA,” McBride said after the Knicks’ 123-111 win over the Clippers on Wednesday evening at Madison Square Garden. “I believe in myself, I believe that guarding really gets us going, gets us out in transition, which we did throughout the second half, which was really big for us.”
Miles McBride defends James Harden during the Knicks’ win over the Clippers on Jan. 7, 2025 at Madison Square Garden. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
A scarcity of a strong point-of-attack defender was again evident during the Knicks’ four-game skid, when their protection as an entire fell aside. Mikal Bridges, maybe miscast in that position, has struggled the last two years with that duty. He and OG Anunoby are better on the wing and appearing as assist defenders slightly than getting matched up on smaller, faster ball handlers initiating the offense. Jalen Brunson’s defensive shortcomings are well-documented, with the Knicks normally attempting to cover him on opponents’ least threatening scorers.
It has resulted in an lack of ability to maintain opponents from penetrating into the lane and forcing the protection to break down.
McBride, though, has emerged as the Knicks’ best possibility in that position. He was inserted into the beginning lineup Wednesday with Josh Hart (sprained ankle) still out and acquired his greatest workload in over a month.
“Defensively, he’s an extremely good on-ball defender, especially when it comes to the pick-and-roll game,” coach Mike Brown said. “He’s strong, he’s powerful, he’s quick, he’s athletic and he’s a little longer than what you think so when that screen comes, he knows you should one-two into the ball, get that shoulder and hip over that screen at the same time as the ball. This way, your opponent won’t have an advantage in the pick-and-roll game.”
McBride spent an excellent period of time guarding James Harden, who completed with 23 factors. But, according to NBA.com’s monitoring stats, only seven of those factors got here with McBride as his main defender, with Harden taking pictures 1-for-5 from the subject.
“He’s crafty, but people don’t know how physical he is,” McBride said of Harden. “If you don’t use a little bit of physicality back, he has you beat in a lot of aspects, obviously shotmaking. I pride myself on what I do. You’re not gonna be able to take away everything, but make it as hard as you can.”
Listed at just 6-foot-2, McBride’s strength often goes under the radar. But he’s as bodily a defender as the Knicks have.
Miles McBride blocks a shot by Kobe Sanders during the second quarter of the Knicks’ win over the Clippers. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
He was Brown’s Defensive Player of the Game on Wednesday.
“Obviously, there was a size disadvantage with James, but he did a great job on James,” Brown said. “You’re not gonna stop him, you just hope he misses some of those shots, and he did. Deuce tried to get up underneath him.”
McBride’s red-hot 3-point taking pictures is how he’s earned most of his plaudits just lately. In six games since getting back from an ankle injury, he is taking pictures 47.9 p.c from deep. And for the season, he’s at 45.3 p.c.
When he entered the league, though, his protection was his calling card, with more of an unpolished offensive game. He performed collegiately at West Virginia under Bob Huggins, who demanded bodily on-ball protection as his groups’ id throughout his teaching tenure.
McBride’s taking pictures is what will get the most consideration. But it’s his ability as a point-of-attack defender that is most irreplaceable for the Knicks.
“Not only his shooting that was great — it was fantastic tonight and he’s been great shooting all year shooting the ball — but his defense was great, too,” Karl-Anthony Towns said. “It kept us in the game. His shooting and his defense gave us a chance every possession to guard our lead. Deuce was special tonight.”
That taking pictures ability and on-ball defending prowess have helped him develop right into a useful two-way participant 5 years into his NBA profession. It’s not a coincidence his internet rating of 10.7 factors is the best on the team.
“He plays great,” Brunson said. “Whatever is asked of him, he provides and he produces. That’s just who he is as a player, as a competitor, as a person. Whatever is asked of him, he’s gonna contribute and do the best he can.”
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