CLEVELAND — Miles McBride never left the sport.
With an unpredictable status within the rotation and two recent acquisitions who play his position, McBride must reap the benefits of each opportunity.
And none were larger — a minimum of minutes-wise — than Sunday’s.
After Jalen Brunson went out with a contused knee, McBride entered at point guard and logged 47-plus minutes, helping navigate the offense in a 107-98 Knicks victory.
He also was the fundamental defender on former All-Star Darius Garland, who was held to 19 points in 40 minutes.
McBride finished with 16 points and five assists with zero turnovers.
“He was running around with Darius Garland,” Josh Hart said. “And if Garland wasn’t in the sport, he was running around with [Max] Strus and [Sam] Merrill. In order that speaks volumes to his conditioning, his competitiveness, his tenacity. At the tip of the day, when you’re in it, that competitive nature really kinda just takes over. He had that. For him to play 47 minutes straight — it’s absurd.”
Added Donte DiVincenzo on McBride’s load, “He’s got them young legs.”
McBride, who buried the dagger trey in the ultimate minute, said he was still fresh postgame.
“I feel tremendous truthfully. That’s what I put within the offseason work for. I prepare my body for this,” he said. “You never know what’s going to occur. [Brunson] needs to be tremendous hopefully, but got to be ready for anything.”
Assuming Brunson returns from his knee injury within the near future, McBride could have one other threat to his spot coming shortly.
With point guard Shake Milton on his way via free agency, the Knicks are getting a fifth guard for a nine-man rotation — one which might be cut to an eight-man rotation once the playoffs start.
“I actually try not to fret about it,” McBride said. “I believe I can just do what I can do, work as hard as I can. If my name known as, my name known as. Anything really just doesn’t affect me.”
McBride, certainly one of just three homegrown draft picks still on the roster, has been coach Tom Thibodeau’s default option amid the wave of Knicks injuries.
It translated to drastic improvements in shooting percentage, which was up to just about 40 percent on 3s from McBride heading into Sunday’s contest against the Cavaliers.
McBride, 23, said Sunday he knew the boost was coming. Last season, McBride leapfrogged Derrick Rose and Evan Fournier for minutes.
“I definitely felt coming into this 12 months, just understanding the NBA game a little bit bit more, knowing where I’m going to get my shots,” McBride, arguably the Knicks’ top perimeter defender, said. “I felt like coming into this 12 months I used to be going to make a giant stride.”
CLEVELAND — Miles McBride never left the sport.
With an unpredictable status within the rotation and two recent acquisitions who play his position, McBride must reap the benefits of each opportunity.
And none were larger — a minimum of minutes-wise — than Sunday’s.
After Jalen Brunson went out with a contused knee, McBride entered at point guard and logged 47-plus minutes, helping navigate the offense in a 107-98 Knicks victory.
He also was the fundamental defender on former All-Star Darius Garland, who was held to 19 points in 40 minutes.
McBride finished with 16 points and five assists with zero turnovers.
“He was running around with Darius Garland,” Josh Hart said. “And if Garland wasn’t in the sport, he was running around with [Max] Strus and [Sam] Merrill. In order that speaks volumes to his conditioning, his competitiveness, his tenacity. At the tip of the day, when you’re in it, that competitive nature really kinda just takes over. He had that. For him to play 47 minutes straight — it’s absurd.”
Added Donte DiVincenzo on McBride’s load, “He’s got them young legs.”
McBride, who buried the dagger trey in the ultimate minute, said he was still fresh postgame.
“I feel tremendous truthfully. That’s what I put within the offseason work for. I prepare my body for this,” he said. “You never know what’s going to occur. [Brunson] needs to be tremendous hopefully, but got to be ready for anything.”
Assuming Brunson returns from his knee injury within the near future, McBride could have one other threat to his spot coming shortly.
With point guard Shake Milton on his way via free agency, the Knicks are getting a fifth guard for a nine-man rotation — one which might be cut to an eight-man rotation once the playoffs start.
“I actually try not to fret about it,” McBride said. “I believe I can just do what I can do, work as hard as I can. If my name known as, my name known as. Anything really just doesn’t affect me.”
McBride, certainly one of just three homegrown draft picks still on the roster, has been coach Tom Thibodeau’s default option amid the wave of Knicks injuries.
It translated to drastic improvements in shooting percentage, which was up to just about 40 percent on 3s from McBride heading into Sunday’s contest against the Cavaliers.
McBride, 23, said Sunday he knew the boost was coming. Last season, McBride leapfrogged Derrick Rose and Evan Fournier for minutes.
“I definitely felt coming into this 12 months, just understanding the NBA game a little bit bit more, knowing where I’m going to get my shots,” McBride, arguably the Knicks’ top perimeter defender, said. “I felt like coming into this 12 months I used to be going to make a giant stride.”
