Miles McBride Faces a Major Question Heading Into Knicks' Game 6

Which Deuce McBride is going to show up for the Knicks in a potential series-clinching Game 6 against the Hawks? | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Miles McBride has had an up-and-down series for the New York against the Atlanta Hawks in their Eastern Conference Quarterfinals matchup. His ups have been strong, while the downs have been clear. Still, McBride, when on, is a game-changing pest.

With a bit of yo-yo nature to his series so far, it begs the question of what version of McBride offensively will show up with a chance to advance in the postseason.

Can Miles McBride bring the offense with his defense in Game 6?

The Knicks' 126-97 Game 5 win at Madison Square Garden saw McBride struggle to score, missing all four of his shots from the field. But, he was aggressive on-ball, slowing down Hawks drives before they could get going. Atlanta's proclivity for transition offense was essentially neutralized. The Hawks had four fastbreak points.

As he did in Game 4, McBride stuck CJ McCollum in Game 5, helping to hold the Hawks' top performer through the first three games to just six points on 3/10 shooting from the field. McCollum was 9/23 heading into Game 4 and has been 0/6 since.

McBride has gone in the inverse direction of McCollum. While he mightily struggled in Game 2, being part of the reason Atlanta stormed back from a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit to win 109-108 at the Mecca, he's come on strong in recent games on the defensive end. In Game 4, McBride even got involved offensively, scoring 11 points on 4/7 shooting overall and 3/6 from beyond the arc.

Though McBride isn't a lead option, his scoring off the bench is extremely valuable when it's there. It allows the second unit to maintain leads, and when he's really rolling, he can even play extended minutes with the starters. This has been important with Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart not lighting the hoop on fire to begin this series.

McBride providing minimal (or sometimes nothing) offensively against Atlanta, though, is a big concern when looking ahead. Boston has a Payton Pritchard as its main sparkplug off the bench, and he's got it going in these playoffs so far. McBride being able to at least rival Pritchard's output, and consistently, would help swing things in the Knicks' favor.

Game 6 is a chance for McBride to get back on track and build some positive momentum for the next series if New York punches its ticket to the second round. It'd also be big for giving the coaching staff some renewed confidence, especially when other players are showing they're not built for the big stage.