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It took two games for Jose Alvarado to win the hearts of New Yorkers after the trade deadline.
Honestly, Jose had our hearts a long time before that, and it was only a matter of time until he put on a Knicks uniform. But still: the moment had arrived. Finally, after years of Alvarado to New York rumors flying around, the front office finally pulled the trigger on February 5th. Less than a week later, Jose made history, becoming the first player in Knicks franchise history to record 25+ points, 5+ steals, and 5+ three-pointers in a game off the bench. Keep in mind the fact that the Knicks got him for a bag of chips (sorry, Yabusele and Dalen Terry) and the deal only gets sweeter and sweeter from there.
This wasn’t a one-off performance, either. Alvarado has been averaging 8.4 points, 2.9 boards, and 3.9 assists in just under 20 minutes per game. Add to the equation his 1.7 steals per outing, and it’s easy to see how his constant energy and effort amount to a flurry of activity on the court.
It’s not just the eye test – numbers nerds should love him as well. The advanced stats back it up. The Knicks have a 98.1(!!) defensive rating with him on the floor. For reference, OKC leads the league with a 106.1 defensive rating. New York’s defense, led by Alvarado, is on par with some of the best lineups in the league. And the offensive side of things remains just as strong, with a 118.0 rating. That gives Alvarado a 19.9 net rating, which over the course of the season would be far and away the best in the league.
Expect some regression on both ends here, but nine games is a large enough sample size to look at Alvarado’s production and say that we might have something here. Keep in mind – excluding his flamethrowing game at Philadelphia, Jose is shooting only 20% from deep, so there’s still room to grow.
New York wanted to strengthen their bench at the trade deadline after the Jordan Clarkson experiment didn’t go exactly to plan. They wanted a guy who would play hard on both sides of the floor. They got the prototype.
The next question, and rightfully so, is whether a Brunson/Alvarado backcourt hold their own together? There’s a lot of talent there, of course, but the lack of size hurts. A lot.
So far, the two have played 77 minutes together, and according to net rating, it’s been the offense that takes the bump, not the defense. Again, it’s a small sample size, but Mike Brown hasn’t shied away from pairing the two together, and it’s delivered encouraging returns so far.
The other thing is, how does the return of Deuce McBride impact Alvarado’s minutes off the bench come playoff time? McBride also serves as a combo guard who can shoot the three and play tough defense. We’ll see how Brown manages the two down the stretch of the season.
However you see it, though, it’s an excellent problem to have. Alvarado is making the Knicks better already, and he’s exactly the kind of spark plug you want off of your bench in a best-of-seven series.