Miles McBride proves Knicks, Tom Thibodeau fail to see bigger picture
It was just last year when the New York Knicks fanbase went wild after the team made it to the playoffs for the first time since the 2012-13 season. Things have drastically changed this year and the Knicks likely aren’t even going to make the play-in tournament. That means that rookie Miles McBride should be seeing an increase in playing time, right? Think again.
There can’t be many more frustrating things in life than Tom Thibodeau overlooking his younger players on the bench. One would assume that because New York and Kemba Walker agreed that he’d be sidelined for the rest of the season and Derrick Rose is injured, McBride would be on the court more often.
The Walker decision happened less than a week ago and since then, McBride has played in one game for two minutes. During the month of February, he played in a total of three minutes.
On Tuesday, the 21-year-old was assigned to the Westchester Knicks for their game against the Greensboro Swarm. McBride scored a game-high 29 points (11-of-17 from the floor, 5-of-7 from the 3-point line) and added seven assists, three rebounds, two steals and one block in a 115-108 win.
The rookie will be available for New York’s game in Philadelphia on Wednesday and after shootaround, he spoke with the media for the first time in over two months.
Miles McBride talked at morning shootaround for first time since his big game vs. Houston on Dec. 16. Said coaches have told him he’s “a rookie” who has to wait on opportunities. I would say tonight in Philly is a big one.
— Marc Berman (@NYPost_Berman) March 2, 2022
The New York Knicks need to play Miles McBride on Wednesday in Philadelphia.
What time is better than the present for the Knicks and McBride? Maybe if we scream from the tree tops that New York doesn’t have depth at the guard position, Thibodeau will finally get it.
The Knicks have lost 15 of their last 18 games and are in 12th place in the East. New York is four games behind Atlanta in the conference standings and if the team can find a way to crawl up to 10th place and earn a play-in tournament nod, it’ll be a miracle.
It makes no sense why Thibodeau is so hesitant to play McBride. The second-round pick in the 2021 draft has played in 22 games and is averaging seven minutes, 1.7 points, and 1.1 assists per game.
With Westchester, McBride’s averaging 29.4 points, 9.6 assists, 5.6 rebounds, 2.8 steals, and is shooting 50% from the floor.
In a little over two hours, the Knicks will take the court at Wells Fargo Center and face the Sixers in James Harden’s home debut. New York orchestrated its usual collapse late in the game against Philadelphia on Sunday and will need all the help that it can get to have a chance to beat the red hot Sixers.
Well, guess what? McBride can help. Even after his clutch performance last night in the G League, Thibodeau’s most likely going to continue to overlook the point guard in favor of veteran Alec Burks.
There’s a little over a month left until the end of the regular season and we can’t stress enough how now’s the time to give younger players like McBride more minutes. Thibodeau won’t have it, though. And you know what? He likely won’t have a job with the Knicks after this season, either.
