Deuce McBride Is Hurting Knicks More Than He's Helping Them During Finals

The Knicks need more from Miles McBride. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Deuce McBride has long been a fan favorite. He's a homegrown player that is on a very team-friendly deal. He hustles and is among the best point-of-attack defenders in the league while also being a big shooting threat. Unfortunately for the Knicks, that hasn't been the case in the Finals.

On the series, he's averaging 3.7 ppg on 25% shooting from thee field and 27.3% shooting from the three. The backup did guard start off the Finals positively, posting a +11 in 19 minutes, which was tied for the third highest on the team. He scored six points, dished out four assists and blocked a shot. Yet in Games 2 and 3, he's looked completely out of sorts.

McBride hit a big three and pullup jumper in Game 2, but spent much of his 18 minutes looking outmatched offensively. The Spurs' ball pressure got to him early and often, forcing two turnovers. And even when he didn't turn the ball over, he just had a very difficult time getting the ball up the floor and initiating any kind of offense.

McBride’s offensive struggles are becoming costly for Knicks

Multiple times, we saw McBride spend precious seconds pounding the ball in an attempt to start a possession or get into a set. And when he couldn't, it led to a contested shot. He had two very questionable shots that come to mind.

The first one was off of an offensive rebound, where he got the ball just outside of the paint and immediately pulled up for a turnaround jump shot. In the second one, he was isolated at the top of the key with Victor Wembanyama on him, and he pulled up for a contested three-pointer over the biggest player in the NBA.

I've been a fan of the Knicks taking threes when Wembanyama is on the perimeter as the Knicks have gotten some offensive rebounds as a result of it. But both of those shots seemed forced. Very forced. And that's not only hurting him, but the Knicks offense as a whole.

His lack of creation isn't just shaving off time they could be using to get into their offense. The Spurs can play off of him since they are confident that they can get back out to him in time given his lack of ability to attack closeouts.

Defensively, he's still held up for the most part. The three-headed guard combination of Stephon Castle, De'Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper is a strong one, even with Fox being hobbled and looking off. But none of them have done too much damage on McBride. Yet it hasn't mattered. Regardless of how good his defense is, it just isn't making up for the lack of shot making and ball handling he is providing currently.

In the Finals, teams are continuously trying to exploit players' weaknesses. The Spurs have done a good job of that against just about everyone. While many of the other Knicks' weaknesses are harder to exploit, or they've simply adjusted, McBride hasn't been able to do that. Outside of the solid minutes he provided the Knicks in Game 1, he's looked mostly outmatched. And obviously, Mike Brown felt the same way.

McBride was benched in favor on Jordan Clarkson Monday night, and it turned out to be the right call. Clarkson provided the Knicks with some much needed ball handling and shot making. That led to McBride playing just nine minutes in the entire game, which was his lowest total of the entire season.

The former second-round pick has been a net negative for his team for two games now. And with the Knicks now heading in to a pivotal Game 4, they'll need him to be at his best, regardless of how much he plays.