Miles McBride is confident he can fix the Knicks’ most glaring weakness

The Knicks’ biggest weakness right now is that Miles McBride is convinced he can help and be among the elite.

He said it simply.

“I know I can be one of the best offensive defensemen in the NBA,” McBride said Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden after the Knicks’ 123-111 win over the Clippers. “I believe in myself, I believe guarding really gets us going, gets us out of transition, which we did in the second half, which was really big for us.”

The lack of a strong offensive defenseman was again glaring during the Knicks’ four-game skid, as their defense as a whole fell apart. Mikal Bridges, perhaps miscast in that role, has struggled with that responsibility over the past two years. He and OG Anunoby are better on the wing, acting as help defenders instead of being paired with smaller, faster ballhandlers who initiate the attack. Jalen Brunson’s defensive shortcomings are well documented, with the Knicks usually trying to hide him from the opponent’s least threatening scorers.

It has resulted in an inability to prevent opponents from penetrating the lane and forcing defenses to collapse.

However, McBride has emerged as the Knicks’ best option in that role. He was inserted into the starting lineup on Wednesday with Josh Hart (ankle sprain) still out and was given his biggest workload in more than a month.

“Defensively, he is an extremely good ball defender, especially when it comes to the pick-and-roll play,” coach Mike Brown said. “He’s strong, he’s powerful, he’s fast, he’s athletic and he’s a little bit taller than you think, so when that screen comes, he knows you have to get a one-two into the ball, get that shoulder and hip over that screen at the same time as the ball. This way your opponent doesn’t have an advantage in the pick-and-roll game.”

McBride spent a lot of time guarding James Harden, who finished with 23 points. But according to NBA.com’s tracking stats, only seven of those points came with McBride as his primary defender, with Harden shooting 1-for-5 from the field.

“He’s crafty, but people don’t know how physical he is,” McBride said of Harden. “If you don’t use a little physicality, he will beat you in many aspects, obviously in shot making. I take pride in what I do. You won’t be able to take everything away, but make it as difficult as you can.”

Standing just 6-foot-4, McBride’s strength often goes under the radar. But he’s just as physical a defender as the Knicks are.

He was Brown’s Defensive Player of the Game on Wednesday.

“Obviously there was a size disadvantage with James, but he did a great job of helping James,” Brown said. “You’re not going to stop him, you just hope he misses some of those shots, and he did. Deuce tried to get under him.”

McBride’s red-hot three-point shooting is where he’s earned the most praise lately. In six games since returning from an ankle injury, he shot 47.9 percent from deep. And for the season he is at 45.3 percent.

However, when he came into the league, his defense was his calling card, with more of an unpolished offensive game. He played collegiately at West Virginia under Bob Huggins, who during his coaching tenure demanded physical defense on the ball as his team’s identity.

McBride’s shooting gets the most attention. But it’s his ability as an offensive defender that is most irreplaceable for the Knicks.

“Not only was his shooting great – it was fantastic tonight and he’s been great shooting the ball all year – but his defense was great,” Karl-Anthony Towns said. “It kept us in the game. His shooting and his defense gave us a chance to protect our lead with every possession. Deuce was special tonight.”

That shooting ability and on-ball defensive ability have helped him develop into a valuable two-way player five years into his NBA career. It’s no coincidence that his net rating of 10.7 points is the best on the team.

“He’s playing great,” Brunson said. “Whatever is asked of him, he delivers and he produces. That’s just who he is as a player, as a competitor, as a person. Whatever is asked of him, he will contribute and do the best he can.”