Miles McBrides playoff struggles exposing Knicks depth problem

DETROIT — The Knicks’ depth was an issue all season, and it’s expectedly become a disadvantage in their first-round series against the Pistons.Their main bench piece has been right in the middle of the struggles.Miles McBride hasn’t been able to get going the entire series, which the Knicks lead 3-2 heading back to Detroit after their 106-103 loss Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.He had just four points in 22 minutes off the bench on 2-for-7 shooting from the field, missing all three of his 3-point attempts.And with the Knicks trailing by three with 2.6 seconds left, he missed two free throws — the second on purpose.“Just gotta keep playing,” coach Tom Thibodeau said of McBride.

“Next play, just keep getting ready, each game is different.How you reset is important.

One game really has nothing to do with the next so just put the proper amount of time into preparation to get yourselves ready to play.”For the series, McBride is averaging 4 points per game on brutal 26.9 percent shooting from the field and 25 percent shooting from deep.In Tuesday’s loss, he played most of the final three minutes with Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart momentarily on the bench with injuries and Thibodeau unwilling to call a timeout to get them back in the game, despite them being ready to check in at the scorer’s table.Sports+ subscribers: Sign up for Inside the Knicks to get daily newsletter coverage and join Expert Take for insider texts about the series.McBride and Cam Payne replaced them with disastrous results, turning a two-point deficit to a six-point deficit before Brunson and Hart returned.For his own part, Payne has done little since his clutch Game 1 performance.

In the four games since, he recorded just six points and two assists in 32 minutes while shooting 33.3 percent from the field and missing his lone 3-pointer.He committed seven fouls as well.It’s resulted in a large disparity in bench scoring.

For the series, the Pistons have 153 points from ...