Miles McBride launches 5-word message on social media

With their second best player, Julius Randle, the New York Knicks are heading into the conference semifinals as favorites against the Indiana Pacers.

Part of that is due to Miles McBride and his growth in year three.

After a first-round series where he averaged 11.3 points on 43 percent shooting from three, he made his voice heard with an Instagram post before the first game against the Pacers.

“Take it to the next level,” McBride captioned the photo slideshow with shots from their first-round series with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Whether it’s a message to himself, the Knicks as a team, the lyrics of a song, or simply words posted, McBride’s message rings true.

Heading into a second-round series against Indiana, New York is taking it to the next level. And they will have to continue to level up to go further.

11 experts choose the Knicks over the Pacers

In a May 4 column for ESPN, a number of staff members were asked to make a prediction for each second-round game.

All 11 members predicted that the Knicks would win their series against the Pacers.

Only two of them, Israel Gutiérrez And Ohm Youngmisuk the series lasted 7 games.

But on the other hand, none of ESPN’s pundits found New York capable of winning the second round.

There are three predictions for a Knicks victory in five games and six predictions for a Knicks victory in six games.

New York opened as a heavy favorite against Indiana, with odds of -245 on DraftKings.

The regular series favored the Pacers, who won two of three games against the Knicks.

But those three games were without OG Anunoby. New York is 24-5 all-time when the defensive star plays.

Anunoby will play an important role as “stopper Pascal Siakam”.

Indiana’s starting forward is averaging 22.3 points per game while shooting an efficient 55 percent from the field.

Believe Tom Thibodeau and the Knicks will deploy Anunoby over Siakam from the jump.

And after locking Tyrese Maxey in a playoff Game 6, look for Donte DiVincenzo to draw the matchup against Tyrese Haliburton.

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Hart on McConnell: ‘He’s a (expletive) little bore’

McBride will follow DiVincenzo on the bench, guarding Haliburton in the minutes the starter rests.

But he will also contribute to a New York-wide project to keep their backup guard at bay.

Fresh off a 20-point game to help take down the Milwaukee Bucks, TJ McConnell is destined for another big role in the Pacers’ second-round series.

He recorded 16 points and 6 assists in Indiana’s last meeting against New York, helping his team to victory. And surpassing his season averages of 10.2 points and 5.5 assists.

Asked about the Pacers’ sixth man on May 5, Josh Hart was “complementary”, but also made the guard joke.

"It’s a little (expletive) annoying," he told reporters.

According to NBA.com’s game tracker, McConnell shot 5 of 6 from the field with one turnover when defended by McBride in 2 games. Haliburton has not recorded a single shot attempt against the Knicks backup this season.

Miles McBride will try to take it over on the defensive end against the Indiana Pacers and win in his individual matchups.

And the New York Knicks will have the task of living up to the preset expectations of winning the entire game and winning the series.

Collin Loring covers the NBA and MLB for Heavy.com, where he has contributed since 2021. His sports coverage has also been featured on FanSided, Elite Sports NY and The Strickland. Learn more about Collin Loring