Jose Alvarado Has Several Paths to Bigger Knicks Role in Playoffs

It's safe to say the Knicks' trade for Jose Alvarado at the deadline has not gone how either had hoped. The energetic guard has seen his role reduced from the one he had with New Orleans to begin the year, which was not the expectation after New York gave up two second-round picks to acquire him and specifically sought him because of his skill set.

Now, Alvarado enters his first playoff run in a Knick uniform on a crowded bench, and having not even touched his potential impact with the team. That leaves him in a difficult spot as he's still just trying to get settled following his move.

However, there's still reason for Alvarado to be optimistic about his possible role for NY in the postseason, even if he doesn't enter the playoffs under the most ideal circumstances.

Jose Alvarado's Knicks role has room to change in playoffs

Alvarado finds himself as just one of several options Mike Brown has leaned on from the Knicks' bench.

His 16.9 minutes per game ranked fourth among the second unit during the regular season, trailing clear sixth man Miles McBride (26.3) and valued wing Landry Shamet (23.0), along with Mitchell Robinson (19.6) and Jordan Clarkson (17.8).

On the plus side, with how rotations shrink in the playoffs, Alvarado presumably is the cut-off line, where the players below him probably won't see any real minutes outside of blowouts. That's a positive place to start from all on its own, as he's going to be part of the team's game plan, rather than needing an injury or some massive showing in a handful of minutes to make inroads with the staff.

Speaking of health, McBride enters the postseason with question marks in that area, which presents a possible path to more playing time for Alvarado. The 25-year-old admitted after the season finale that he still is working through some "residual pain" from his hernia surgery, which cost him 28 games down the stretch.

McBridg also looked rusty in his return, averaging a dismal 3.8 points on 22.2% shooting from the field over his first five games back. He did play better in the finale (21 points, 4-of-7 from three), but those six contests to close the year showed New York how much his play could vary on the big stage while he still works his way back to 100%.

There is a realistic scenario where McBride struggles in the ultra-physical playoff environment and the Hawks throw him off his game by aggressively going at him. That could force coach Brown to pivot, and considering McBride played an estimated 33% of his minutes at point guard in 2025-26, that's one clear way Alvarado (who was an estimated 100% of minutes at PG) could see the floor more than the regular season may have led one to expect.

Jose Alvarado playing aggressive defense. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Looking at where else Brown could go to reallocate resources, second-year guard Tyler Kolek (11.1 MPG in 2025-26) logged an estimated 80% of his time at point this season. New York didn't trust him to touch the floor last postseason, seeing just over seven minutes in three appearances.

Though he saw a small bump in role during this campaign, it's very reasonable to assume Kolek is demoted to benchwarmer to begin the postseason as rotations shorten.

Alvarado has a huge playoff experience advantage over Kolek as well, seeing a healthy 17.9 MPG over 10 career postseason outings with the Pelicans. That provides even more reason for Brown to side with the vet for a more steady hand in crucial second-unit minutes, which could provide extra opportunities for Alvarado to make an impact.

While Alvarado doesn't provide the same scoring upside as McBride, he does enter the playoffs in a bit of a groove with double-digit scoring in four of his last five. Also, his tenacious style of play is extremely well-suited to make a difference against Atlanta, which finished the regular season as the league's sixth-best scoring unit on PPG (118.5).

The more the Knicks can disrupt the Hawks' playmaking backcourt of CJ McCollum and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (39.5 combined PPG, 7.8 combined APG), the better their chances are of making this a short series and getting extra rest before possibly facing the Celtics.

Alvarado could help them do exactly that, which gives him real potential to see a playoff bump in role once things tip off.

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