After being acquired by the New York Knicks at the trade deadline, former undrafted guard Jose Alvarado will soon make his season debut. There’s a lot of enthusiasm about him being on New York’s roster, in no small part due to his homegrown roots. However, what Alvarado can provide on the court is just as exciting, especially for a team that just lost Miles McBride.
Mike Brown Details What Jose Alvarado Can Provide To Knicks
“He just brings a level of toughness to the team,” Knicks head coach Mike Brown says,”his energy is unmatched.”
“What he can do defensively in the full court and even in the front court on the ball especially on pick-and-rolls and stuff like that, is at a pretty high level. He shoots it better than most people think. We want to play fast and we believe he’s a guy who will come in and push the pace. Get us into our offense and all that other stuff. Because he is quick, he’s got a low center of gravity. Been around for a while, he’ll touch the paint and make others better. We’re a big spray team and he should be good in that area too. So excited to have him.”
Jose Alvarado is going to be a really good Knick.
Not hard to see why they wanted to add him to this roster.
With the injury to Deuce, Alvarado will offer a ton of good POA defense, selflessness, and will let it fly from the corners.
Shot map from @SynergySportsHQ #knicks… pic.twitter.com/3PrqBISiiV
— ALBERT GHIM (@albertoeghim) February 6, 2026
To Brown’s point, Alvarado is undoubtedly an elite on-ball defender. His combination of quickness, intensity and technique allow him to pressure ball-handlers anywhere they may be on the court. The sobriquet, Grand Theft Alvarado, was truly earned with the Puerto Rican pickpocket averaging 2.0 steals per 36 minutes. Not only is it imperative that his opponents know where he is at all times, he plays bigger than his size. Despite being listed at 6-foot-0 and 179 pounds, he’ll guard anyone and everyone. That speaks to his toughness, a trait that a football fanatic like Brown clearly loves.
His Most Underrated Weapon?
Alvarado probably isn’t going to win Sixth Man of the Year for his scoring ability. To this point of his career, he’s averaging 8.1 points per game. Nevertheless, he’s definitely more than serviceable at that end.
Over the past three seasons, Alvarado’s converted 36.5% of his 3s (4.6 attempts per game). In that time, he’s made at least 35 percent of both his catch-and-shoot and pull-up attempts. This could be what Brown was alluding to when he spoke about Alvarado’s 3-ball being more of a weapon than people may assume. In any case, for a team with the ninth-highest 3-point attempt average (39.7), this is an important feature of his scouting report.
Replacing Miles McBride
This brings the conversation to McBride. After having core muscle surgery, he’ll be out for at least 6-8 weeks, according to SNY insider Ian Begley. However, he could be out until the playoffs. Those injury reports came as McBride was already ruled out with an ankle injury that caused him to miss the previous five games.
A key rotation player, McBride has been shooting 42.0% from 3 on 6.9 attempts per game this season, both career-highs. If Alvarado supplants him in the rotation, the Knicks’ offensive efficiency and thus ceiling will probably dip. Even so, it’s not like there are a lot of 40-plus percent shooters with terrific perimeter defense laying around. Simply put, McBride’s absence was going to be felt no matter what.
An area where Alvarado should be able to match McBride though is in their ability to get into the teeth of the defense. Again, the 27-year-old isn’t looked at as some type of scoring savant. However, he’s agile and aggressive enough to consistently penetrate the lane. With a 55.0% pass rate and a 14.4% assist rate on drives this season, the ambidextrous facilitator indeed fits Brown’s ‘spray-heavy’ offense. He’s also pretty efficient inside the paint, shooting 66.7% within five feet of the rim. This includes a 50.0% conversation rate on his driving floaters.
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