Jose Alvarado's Knicks Return Isn't Off to the Start Most Hoped

Jose Alvarado has had a rough go of things in four preseason games for the Knicks, shooting just 36.0%% (9-of-25) from the field and missing seven of his 10 three-point attempts. He’s only played just under 60 minutes, but it was anything but smooth sailing when it came to scoring the rock, and he had just two more made shots (nine) than turnovers (seven) in those minutes.

He did have a highlight play on the defensive end for the Knicks against Minnesota the other night when he stole the ball from LaMelo in the backcourt in "Grand Theft Alvarado" style, then converted the steal into a layup.

The rest of the team around Alvarado hasn’t fared well in the slightest with him on the floor, having posted a 79.2 offensive rating, 120.8 defensive rating, and -41.7 net rating before the preseason finale. That’s virtually the same defense (they’ve not been on their best behavior in preseason) as the Knicks have registered without him on the floor, but it’s a major dip on offense (103.4 ORTG without him).

Either way, it’s been a struggle all around for the Knicks, but especially with the newly re-signed Alvarado on the floor so far this preseason.

Jose Alvarado's preseason was a major disappointment

In fairness to Alvarado, preseason itself isn’t the most organized of settings, and he missed the preseason opener due to a knee contusion. He’s also playing in lineups that he didn’t play alongside when he played for the Knicks last year in the regular season and playoffs.

He played 73 seconds with Karl-Anthony Towns in the Knicks' game on Oct. 8 vs. the Wizards. The Knicks looked smooth moving the basketball and outscored the Wizards by three points in that short stint together; we saw Jordan Clarkson make a three and a finger-roll layup by KAT before Alvarado subbed out of the game. In the Knicks' next game vs. Minnesota, they registered one defensive possession (which resulted in the Timberwolves' turnover) and one offensive possession (which resulted in free throws) before Alvarado was subbed out.

Alvarado didn’t play too well without KAT during last year’s regular season when he came over to the Knicks, as the Knicks were outscored by 1.9 points per 100 possessions across the 332 non-garbage-time possessions he had with the Knicks without KAT. However, the two-man duo of Alvarado and KAT had a +18.8 NETRTG in 528 regular-season possessions together, excluding garbage time. That bumped up to a +32.5 NETRTG in the playoffs.

Alvarado has been mostly sharing the floor this preseason with centers that he hadn’t played with before. Andre Drummond is a veteran, but again, he hasn’t played with Alvarado before and Alvarado is better with a creating/scoring center like KAT. He’s also played alongside roster hopefuls Drew Eubanks, who is playing for his NBA life right now.

A lot of Alvarado’s impact with the Knicks on his new contract will be reliant on who he shares the floor with—and hopefully it’s with KAT and not Drummond. We’ve seen him and KAT shine together, but I understand trying out everything in the preseason.

In regard to the shooting woes, it’s not the first time we’ve seen Alvarado struggle with his shot. After his breakout performance in Philly, where he drained eight threes and recorded five steals in a blowout win, he shot just 14.7% (5-of-34) from three over his next 14 games for the Knicks. He’d later fall out of head coach Mike Brown’s rotation before earning it back in style in the playoffs, so he’s proven he can bounce back before.

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