Jose Alvarado’s Impressive Playoff Performance
Jose Alvarado has emerged as one of the more surprising figures in this playoff series so far.
Not long ago, it seemed he might be on the outs with coach Mike Brown’s playoff rotation.
In fact, he didn’t play at all in the opening game.
Now, however, he’s clearly carved out his place on the team.
In the Knicks’ Game 5 victory over the Hawks at the Garden, Alvarado played 12 minutes and scored 12 points, which is quite the turnaround.
Crucially, he added seven of those points in a key stretch at the start of the second quarter, helping the Knicks extend their lead significantly.
“It’s just part of the business. Be prepared,” Alvarado commented. “Whatever the team needs. We’re a really good team. They told us how the game was going to go. Just stay ready. That’s what I did mentally.”
Previously, Coach Brown explained that he opted to give Alvarado more minutes after noticing that Landry Shamet and Miles McBride struggled as backup point guards early in the series. That move has clearly paid off.
Interestingly, Alvarado’s rollercoaster 3-point shooting had been a concern, likely the reason he was dropped from the rotation at the end of the regular season. Yet, in this game, he went 2-for-3 from beyond the arc.
“My teammates found me,” he said. “I was open today, so I took the shot.”
In a concerning moment, Josh Hart entered the game with 6:27 remaining in the fourth quarter but soon headed to the locker room and did not return. Early in the game, he had been seen favoring his lower back after a hard fall.
The Knicks did not provide further updates postgame.
Mikal Bridges, as expected, remained in the starting lineup but was substituted for the first time in this role, replaced by Miles McBride with 5:49 left in the first quarter. At that moment, the Knicks were leading by just one point, but they eventually ended the quarter up by 13.
Bridges finished with a plus-11 rating, while McBride had an impressive plus-19.
Toward the end of the game, CJ McCollum collided with Jalen Brunson as he attempted another jump shot. Brunson appeared to briefly favor the area but didn’t go down as he did in Game 1. He later remarked, “I don’t think anything of it.”
