New York Knicks shooting guard Miles McBride has been an absolute defensive force of late. He left Wednesday night’s matchup with the Atlanta Hawks early due to a rib contusion, however, prior to that early exit, McBride was on a tear.
Knicks’ Miles McBride is shutting down his opponents
KnicksMuse relayed an unearthing from NBA Stats which highlighted the clinic McBride has put on recently:
“Deuce McBride’s Last 3 Games: Held TOR to 1/8 FG as primary defender. Held BOS to 2/7 FG as primary defender. Held IND to 2/11 FG as primary defender,” KnicksMuse published on X. “Opponents are shooting 5/26 FG (19.2%) against him in the last week, per @nbastats.”
McBride only played eight minutes against Atlanta but had a +1 rating. The Knicks went on to win without McBride, but it was a hard-fought, narrow, 149-148 victory.
McBride has put on a clinic against stout backcourts
McBride and the Knicks have gone against three teams with noteworthy wing talent. The 24-year-old was tasked with guarding Immanuel Quickley, Gradey Dick, and the Raptors’ savvy midrange and outside shooting guards.
The defending champion Celtics were without Jrue Holiday in their matchup on Feb. 8. However, McBride still played well against high-octane offensive weapons like Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, Jaylen Brown, and company. The Pacers’ fast-paced guards including Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, T.J. McConnell, and Benedict Mathurin were also contained, among all of the other varying matchups that the West Virginia product faced.
McBride’s defense has helped New York go 2-1 in his torrid stretch. His defense has been great, but now the Knicks need his offense to meet it where it’s at. New York still boasts the worst-scoring second unit in the league at 21.7 PPG. If they want to round into championship form, they’ll need their second unit headliner to up his 9.3 PPG on the campaign.
