Just as the Knicks got one key piece of their rotation back, they’ll need to operate without another for at least the immediate future.
Miles McBride will be reevaluated in a week after suffering a sprained left ankle during Sunday’s win, according to the Knicks — and with that timeline, he’ll miss the NBA Cup semifinal Saturday against the Magic and the final Tuesday if they advance.
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McBride tumbled to the Garden court after being fouled late in the third quarter while attempting a layup, and The Post’s Stefan Bondy reported that McBride left the Knicks facility in a walking boot the next day and suffered a high ankle sprain.
The latest update delivered a blow to the surging Knicks — who’ve won four in a row and eight of their past nine games — ahead of their trip for the final portion of the league’s in-season tournament. They went 0-3 without McBride during his previous absences this season before picking up a victory Tuesday, and in his fifth year the guard has averaged a career-best 11.6 points per game along with 2.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and a 44.4 percent 3-point clip.
Miles McBride is out at least another week. JASON SZENES/ NY POST
“Obviously, we miss him,” point guard Jalen Brunson said after practice Thursday in Tarrytown. “We want him back. Gotta pick up a lot of slack on both sides of the ball without him being out there. He’s able to do so much for us, and so definitely we need to fill that gap. We’re just gonna have to do what we’ve gotta do until he’s back.”
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McBride has remained one of the Knicks’ contract bargains, more than living up to the three-year, $13 million extension he signed nearly two years ago by providing strong minutes off the bench and starting — like he did for seven of the nine games OG Anunoby recently missed with a hamstring strain — when needed. But the Knicks will need to rely on Jordan Clarkson to fill McBride’s role for at least the Vegas trip and adapt without their top two guards off the bench, as Landry Shamet injured his shoulder in late November and received a reevaluation timeline of four weeks. Second-year guard Tyler Kolek could be tasked with inheriting extra minutes too.
Clarkson has been in this spot before. He won the league’s Sixth Man of the Year award in 2020-21 while with the Jazz and has built a career on carving out roles off the bench, with his latest chapter unfolding with the Knicks after opting to chase a title as a 33-year-old. There have been highs, like his 24-point burst against the Heat on Nov. 14, and lows, like a seven-game stretch entering Tuesday when Clarkson finished with single-digit points five times and shot 30.8 percent from the field.
But he’s methodical until he gets to his spots, head coach Mike Brown said, and isn’t “getting himself in trouble” by relying on just one foot in the paint. If help defense collapses, Clarkson can dish passes. And he’s embraced the necessary physicality on defense to survive as a small guard in the league and mesh with the Knicks system.
“I mean, he’s definitely one of the best sixth men ever in our game,” Brunson said of Clarkson. “He’s won the award and the things he’s been able to do in that role have been great. So I expect him just to come and be aggressive and be who he is. … So I don’t see a drop-off. I just see the next-man-up mentality.”
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There wasn’t much of a drop-off in Tuesday’s win against the Raptors, when Clarkson contributed 12 points in 25 minutes off the bench. He has aced most of his first impressions to start his Knicks stint while working through any obstacles that materialized while adapting. His next task, though, will involve contributing on their biggest stage yet this season.
“I think it’s a collective deal,” Brown said of replacing McBride, “because with Deuce out, too, Tyler’s played a little bit more too. Again, not one person is gonna replace any other one person. It’s gonna be done collectively, and Jordan’s had a fantastic year for us. He’s given us a huge spark coming off the bench.”