Deuce McBride adds more defense to Knicks' starting lineup

SAN ANTONIO — The standard, the bar that Deuce McBride faces every day that he steps into the starting lineup while Jalen Brunson rehabilitates his sprained right ankle, is the highlight-reel, 39-point performance that Brunson put up the night he was hurt in Los Angeles.

And that standard is one that no backup, even one who could find a starting job somewhere, will live up to on most nights.

But it’s not what’s expected or required from McBride. Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau preaches not just to McBride, but all his players, that every night you can defend, you can rebound, you can have low turnovers and help the team win. And by that standard, McBride might do it better than most fill-ins.

Since joining the Knicks as a second-round pick, McBride’s calling card has been the 94 feet of pressure on defense, creating ball pressure at the point of attack that can disrupt an offense. McBride’s offense has steadily improved and his high-arcing shots are accompanied, not just at Madison Square Garden, but in nearly every arena on the road, by calls of “Deuce” from the crowd.

In the five games entering Wednesday’s game at the Frost Center against the Spurs he is averaging 13.6 points and five assists with just one turnover per game. But the defense is where his imprint is made every night.

“The ball pressure I think is huge for us,” Thibodeau said. “And not only the ball pressure but his disruption and anticipation, physicality. I think when you combine all those things and that also leads to turnovers, which gets us into the open floor.”

The regular starting five with Brunson has a defensive rating of 114.2 and a net rating of 3.1 while playing together more than any five-man unit in the NBA. The Knicks are 14th in the NBA in defensive rating on the season but are third in the five games since McBride moved into the starting lineup. Some of that can certainly be attributed to McBride’s skill set. It may also be the return of Mitchell Robinson, which, even with his minutes limited, coincided with Brunson’s injury.

While the Knicks have a defensive rating of 104.9 in the five games since Brunson went down and McBride entered the starting lineup, a lineup with Brunson and McBride together along with OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns has a defensive rating of 95.6.

“I think it’s probably the steady progress by everyone,” Thibodeau said of the improvement on the defensive end. “Obviously having another seven-footer is huge for us. And like I said, the ball pressure, and I don’t want to overlook what OG’s done during this stretch as well because he’s had a great impact on the defense.”

The Knicks have faced some of the league’s struggling offensive units of late. Of the three teams the Knicks have beaten without Brunson, Miami is last in the NBA over the last five games and Portland 23rd and Sacramento 21st.

But McBride did solid work, as well as a defender can, in harassing Steph Curry last week in a loss to Golden State.

“He did a good job,” Josh Hart said. “He’s always a good matchup in terms of being physical, making it tough for [Curry]. He has the conditioning to run around with him. He did a heck of a job. We held them under 100.”

While the Knicks have yet to hint at a return date for Brunson, Thursday marks two weeks since he was injured and he is due for a re-evaluation. Thibodeau believes that there will be no problem working him back in and returning McBride to a backup role.

“We’ll deal with that when we get there,” Thibodeau said. “I think guys have gone back and forth. Jalen has played a lot with the second group, too. And anytime you add a player like Mitch, he has been a starter most of his career. I always felt that Deuce is a starter that’s coming off the bench. So you can mix and match with him as well. I like what it gives our team. And then some guys, if someone’s got it going they’re probably going to play a little longer.”

Notes & quotes: Robinson was available Wednesday on the first night of a back-to-back set. Thibodeau said that his minutes are steadily rising and they would determine Thursday if he would play the second night of the back-to-back in Charlotte . . . With Gregg Popovich still sidelined after suffering a stroke and his future yet to be determined, Thibodeau offered his respect. “He’s been a great ambassador for the game,” Thibodeau said. “He’s had a great impact on all of us coaches. What he means to the NBA, certainly to this city, all the things that he’s done, and we’re always thinking about him and we wish him well. We know he’s making steady progress. Whatever it is he decides to do we’re behind him 100%. We wish him the best.”

By Steve Popper

steve.popper@newsday.com@StevePopper

Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.