Knicks Game Night: 2026 NBA Playoffs Round 1, Game 4 – NYK (1-2) at ATL (2-1); NBC, Peacock

Aside from Jalen Brunson, the Knicks don’t have many shotmakers. If head coach Mike Brown doesn’t trust Karl-Anthony Towns as a viable secondary scorer, then he needs to put Miles McBride in the starting lineup for tonight’s pivotal Game 4.

There are several reasons why this lineup change is necessary. The first is Mikal Bridges’s lack of offense in Games 2 and 3. The Knicks once traded five first-round draft picks for Bridges, but he has gone scoreless in his last three playoff basketball halves. He also led the Knicks in turnovers in Game 3.

The consequences of benching Bridges aren’t great. The value of five first-round picks could be Giannis Antetokounmpo or another superstar. Benching Bridges would be a bad look for Leon Rose and the front office, but losing this first-round series to Atlanta would look worse.

In each of their last two games, the Knicks have trailed by double digits after the first quarter. They have dug insurmountable holes because of their lack of offense. On Thursday, McBride led the bench with 15 points. Throughout this series, he has been the only Knick, other than Brunson, who can score off his own dribble.

However, McBride is smaller than Bridges and a defensive liability. Josh Hart spent the majority of Wednesday’s second half guarding CJ McCollum, who had outmatched Brunson earlier. Hart’s defense helped the Knicks regain the lead late in the fourth quarter, even though they lost the game.

On Atlanta’s game-winning drive, Brown replaced Hart with McBride. Ever since his hernia surgery in February that sidelined him for 28 games, McBride hasn’t been the same. He is regaining his offensive strength, but his defense remains questionable. McBride couldn’t guard McCollum on that final Hawks play, and Atlanta’s star earned an easy lane to the basket.

Although this is a potential downside to starting McBride, it isn’t like Bridges has been better defensively. Also, McBride was a sparkplug off the bench in Game 3. The Knicks outscored Atlanta by 16 points during his 31 minutes on the court. When Brunson gets double-teamed, and Brown doesn’t get Towns the ball, then McBride should become the secondary scorer.

After Game 3, when asked about making a starting lineup change, Brown did not say no. He said it will be a game-time decision, and “everything is on the table.”

The Knicks still must prioritize Towns in the fourth quarter because their Brunson-oriented strategy is too predictable. However, if the Knicks start tonight’s game stronger, then they might not need to worry about crunch time. Right now, the best recipe for a win is putting Miles McBride in the starting lineup.