The New York Knicks have two potential first-round opponents, and both are familiar with former WVU guard Miles “Deuce” McBride.
New York secured the Eastern Conference’s second seed in a pivotal overtime win over the Chicago Bulls on Sunday. Down nine points with eight minutes remaining, McBride propelled the Knicks’ comeback, scoring a three-pointer and mid-range fadeaway on back-to-back possessions before assisting Bojan Bogdanovic for a three that cut the Bulls lead to one.
With the second seed earned, McBride will have to wait until Wednesday to find out who his team will face off against in round one. In the NBA Play-in Tournament, either the Philadelphia 76ers or the Miami Heat will emerge victorious and enter New York City as the seventh seed.
McBride, who largely plays a backup point guard role behind All-NBA First Team candidate Jalen Brunson, will not be anywhere near the sole force of a round-one matchup, but both Miami and Philadelphia have seen a bit of what McBride can contribute to winning. This is how the Knicks have fared against both teams and the notable ways in which McBride has contributed against them in the regular season.
Philadelphia 76ers
Seed and Overall Record: 7th, 47-35
Regular Season Record vs. New York: 1-3
The 76ers have been largely unsuccessful against the Knicks this season despite having just three fewer wins on the year. With that in mind, Philadelphia has seen McBride’s impact firsthand, as the 76ers only victory in the series was McBride’s least impactful performance.
On March 10, McBride came off the bench for 16 minutes but only contributed two assists and a steal in the box score. He shot zero-for-five from the field and zero-of-two from three in a 79-73 76ers win.
In all other games, where the Knicks won convincingly, McBride’s impact was clear. Most notably, in the teams’ first matchup on Jan. 15, Deuce scored 15 points in 15 minutes and tallied four assists. McBride shot four-for-six from three, four-of-eight from the field, and three-for-three from the free throw line.
Two days after McBride’s scoreless performance in Philadelphia, he returned to the same court and finished with 13 points, two assists, and two rebounds on five-for-eight shooting and three-of-five shooting from long distance.
McBride’s impact in a potential series against Philadelphia is clear, and the Knicks, who won the games by 14 points, 27 points, and 36 points, should be clear favorites.
Miami Heat
Seed and Overall Record: 8th, 46-36
Regular Season Record vs. New York: 1-2
New York has had few opportunities to play at full strength against Miami, but when it has done so, mainly on Jan. 27 in Madison Square Garden, the Knicks proved stronger, winning 125-109.
After sitting out the Knicks’ 100-98 victory on Nov. 24, McBride got an opportunity off the bench in the January win, as New York had officially elevated his role after trading guard Immanuel Quickley to Toronto for OG Anunoby. The previous month, New York offered McBride a three-year contract extension, which he signed.
In the January game, McBride scored nine points in 10 minutes, going three-for-four from the field, one-for-two from three, and two-for-two from the line. His immediate offense impact in short sample size was made clear to the Heat in that game, but Miami is far more likely to remember him from the teams’ most recent matchup in early April.
On April 2, McBride filled in for Anunoby in the starting lineup and played 45 minutes. He shot nine-for-16 and made half of his eight three-point attempts en route to 24 points, two assists, two rebounds, and a block with just two turnovers in the 109-99 loss.
McBride’s impact was not quite enough to elevate New York to victory in that matchup, but his presence as a threat was clear. If Miami does defeat Philadelphia on Wednesday, he will be someone coach Erik Spoelstra will tell his guys to watch for off the bench.
