The case for the Knicks to start McBrunson
There's one spot open in the Knicks' starting lineup & one choice who'd tie up a whole lotta loose ends: Deuce McBride
Knicks fandom was shaken to its very foundation after the news that the organization traded Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Karl-Anthony Towns. Gallons of virtual ink will be spilled in the coming days regarding the loss of the ex-Knicks, as well as Towns’ potential impact on what we all hope will be a championship contender. But with any two-for-one trade involving rotation stalwarts, there is also a quick and dirty calculus to be solved. Mitchell Robinson’s injury concerns further complicate things. The Knicks looked to be very deep, and now they are considerably less deep. How will they resolve this?
Let’s begin with the starting lineup. Barring injury you can pencil in Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Towns. There’s a great deal of debate about Towns’ ability to handle the center position full-time, but for now it seems safe to assume he’ll play there. Who gets the final starting spot?
But wait . . . is this even a question? The smart money seems to be on Josh Hart. When last we saw him on the court, he was not only starting but playing 48 minutes a night – in the playoffs. Surely he’ll slide back into that role with DiVincenzo and Randle gone, right? Most people seem to think so.
As much as I love Hart, I think there may be an overlooked candidate who makes even more sense: Miles “Deuce” McBride. Until the Towns news broke, Deuce was slated as Brunson’s backup. But why would Tom Thibodeau promote Brunson’s understudy to start alongside him? There are reasons. Believe, dude, there are reasons.
Deuce has already proven himself as Brunson’s backcourt partner
Perhaps Deuce will fall victim to the weirdness that always surrounded Immanuel Quickley whenever someone advocated for him to start: shouts of “He’s too small!” and “Can’t start the backup point guard!” It didn’t make sense then with IQ and it certainly doesn’t now with McBride. Thibs wasn’t exactly shy about playing Deuce and Brunson together last season – the pair shared the court for 471 minutes. The results were sexy indeed: a +12.6 net rating. More surprising is how often Thibs leaned on their pairing in the playoffs: 242 minutes over 13 playoff contests, nearly 20 a game. Maybe he did so out of necessity, given all the injuries, but once again McBrunson delivered on the court.
Deuce brings the impeccable outside shooting and tenacious perimeter defense you want from a Brunson backcourt man.The main knock against playing them together is the lack of size . . . and by “size” people mean “height.” This standard isn’t exactly applied consistently. Few people complain when the 6-foot4 Hart plays power forward, which he did 28% of the time last season. Deuce is 6-foot-2, has long arms and is built like a tank. Few guards are going to out-muscle or out-hustle him, to paraphrase a Clyde-ism.
Starting Deuce balances the rotations
Take another look at Bobby Marks’ projected roster. With Hart starting, who’s left to fill out the bench?
GUARDS: Deuce; Cam Payne; Tyler Kolek; Landry Shamet (Exhibit 9 contract)
WINGS: Pacôme Dadiet (not yet); Chuma Okeke (just released); Marcus Morris (just released)
BIGS: Precious Achiuwa; Jericho Sims (who sucks)
That doesn’t really work, does it? The Knicks have three wings in Thibs’ circle of trust: Hart, Bridges and Anunoby. If he starts them all, how does that work? We learned last year the Precious/Sims pairing is a non-starter. Maybe they re-sign one of Okeke or Morris later? Can Thibs get super-duper creative with his rotations to make this work? Maybe . . . though that’s never been his strong suit.
If you start Deuce and move Hart to the bench, you have a much healthier mix of guards, wings and Precious at the 5. No Sims, please.
Don’t mess with Hart’s Sixth Man energy
Josh Hart. Mr. Big Balls. The guy who’ll miss 15 straight 3s, then hit the game-winner. We love him. We want them in the trenches for the biggest battles in April, May and (hopefully) June.
But the regular season isn’t a marathon — more an 82-game ultra-marathon. I think many Knicks fans have forgotten just how confounding Hart can be in the regular season. His big-game intensity is admirable, but it tends to wax and wane dramatically over the long winter, when the games all sort of melt together. He tends to go through stretches – I’m talking multiple weeks here – where he loses all confidence in his jumper and just stops shooting altogether (Ed. note: this trend pre-dates Hart joining the Knicks). He starts to freestyle on defense. He gets somewhat careless with the ball.
Hart will be 30 in March, so he pretty much is what he is at this point. And what he is is tremendous! We need that dog in him! However, that dog is probably better off leading the bench unit, going hog-wild and lighting a fire under the starters’ asses when they get off to slow starts.
Deuce also has dog in him, but a different breed with a different temperament. Defensively, his intensity burns a little more consistently. Offensively, not only is he a vastly superior shooter, he isn’t prone to weeks-long bouts of jumperphobia that can grind even a good halfcourt offense to a halt. These facts don’t make him a better player than Hart, but they probably matter a little more when we’re talking about the fifth option in a lineup featuring four big-time scorers.
A Deuce leap could make the difference
As noted above, Hart is a known quantity. We don’t know how Towns and Bridges will respond to life in the MSG pressure cooker, but they are also known, proven vets. Deuce, who turned 24 a few weeks ago, may be the closest thing these Knicks have to a wild card. He took a major step forward after Quickley was traded; perhaps he has another in him, similar to DiVincenzo last season. Best way to find out is to give him that starting-2 spot alongside the Captain.
Ultimately, the Deuce-Hart question is only marginally important compared to other concerns facing these new-look Knicks. Working Bridges and especially Towns into the rotation are far more critical. But starting McBride can help in the near-term (ensuring better balance throughout the rotation) and long-term (giving Deuce a chance to blossom into one of the league’s most important role players). If I were a betting man, I’d put my money on Hart starting opening night. But Deuce has certainly given Thibs a reason to think twice about it.
