Oh man, so let’s talk about the Knicks. Their bench? Yeah, it’s been pretty, uh, sparse. I mean, they ended up dead last in bench scoring for the season. The starters carried the load, basically more than any other team out there. And now, with the playoffs, it’s like — surprise, surprise — even more pressure on these guys. The bench only chipped in with 11.5 points during the first round against the Pistons. Ouch, right?
So here’s the deal with the Celtics coming up next. Someone from the Knicks’ bench needs to step up. Enter Miles McBride. It’s kind of like, dude, we need an X-factor, and everyone’s looking your way.
Honestly, McBride’s playoff run so far? It’s been rough. He averaged, like, 3.8 points and was shooting kinda terrible. Like, really, 26.7% from the field is not something you brag about. Seriously, not great.
The Knicks are trying to get some depth going in the playoffs. I mean, only McBride and Mitchell Robinson really got any significant minutes. Cam Payne? He made a splash with 14 points in Game 1 but then just vanished — just eight points over the next five games.
Even with his struggles, McBride has got this whole two-way player vibe they seriously need against Boston. Dude’s got a wingspan that would make you do a double-take. And normally, he shoots pretty well from the three — like 36% in career numbers.
First round was, like, what just happened? Given all the roster changes — sending Quickley and Barrett to the Raptors, snagging Anunoby — McBride’s been the Knicks’ sixth man this season. He usually puts up decent numbers: 9.5 points in around 25 minutes. He even did well in last year’s playoffs.
McBride only managed 16 minutes per game in the first round though. But now? They should really think about giving him more court time. He’s shown he can shoot the three well in the recent past seasons.
Okay, so what’s up with the three-point shooting? Knicks basically rank last in attempts per 100 possessions among the playoff teams. Up against Boston, who happens to love shooting threes, Knicks gotta step it up. McBride? He’s leading in this during the postseason, so, might be key to stretching the floor a bit.
If they hop on the transition train, it could open up those three-point chances. McBride makes their lineup a bit funky — centers are sometimes tossed onto guys like Hart, leaving smaller players on Karl-Anthony Towns. Celtics played with that idea all season.
When teams leave non-shooters open, Celtics just plop big men like Porzingis there. McBride being ready to shoot could really space the floor, letting stars like Brunson and Towns do their thing.
Stats time: The Knicks generally do well with McBride on the floor. Over 1,593 minutes, they outscored opponents by 7.79 points per 100 possessions. Even with his less-than-stellar 96 minutes during the last series, they managed to outscore the Pistons. A little ray of hope?
So, Knicks are the underdogs, no one’s denying that. But if McBride can find his groove from outside, he might just give them the boost they need. Knicks fans can dream, right? Here’s to hoping.
