Jose Alvarado #15 of the New York Knicks
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Jose Alvarado #15 of the New York Knicks
Well, that did not take long. The Knicks pulled off a late move ahead of the NBA trad deadline on Thursday when they brought in point guard Jose Alvarado from the Pelicans in a deal that sent out Dalen Terry and a pair of likely late second-round picks. On Sunday, Alvarado made his debut, and it was memorable.
The Knicks had long been linked to Alvarado, a New York City native, on the trade market, as the team wanted a rugged, defensive-minded point guard who could play point-of-attack D against opponents’ top ball-handlers. And Alvarado did that in his debut in Boston on Sunday afternoon, in a massive Knicks win, 111-89.
He finished with 12 points in 25 minutes, and was a plus-13 on the day. But he also forced two turnovers from Celtics star Jaylen Brown, stripping him on a shot attempt late in the third quarter and swiping a pass from him in the fourth quarter to lead to a fast-break basket that turned an opportunity for Boston to cut a 12-point lead to single digits back into a 14-point Knicks lead.
Jose Alvarado Was Brought in for Defense
That is, of course, exactly what the Knicks acquired Alvarado to do–play something akin to the role Aaron Nembhard played for the Pacers last year, only do it off the bench. The Knicks won’t be asking him to fill in for Jalen Brunson as his backup, but will frequently play the pair together to help mask some of Brunson’s defensive deficiencies
“He just brings a level of toughness to the team, his energy is unmatched,” coach Mike Brown said, according to the NY Post. “What he can do defensively in the full court and even in the frontcourt on the ball, especially on pick-and-rolls and stuff like that, is at a pretty high level.”
The win was a big one for the Knicks, who have been knocked around by injuries and went into Sunday concerned about whether Josh Hart could play through his persistent ankle troubles, and whether Karl-Anthony Towns would be able to play through his eye injury.
OG Anunoby, who injured his toe in Friday’s loss to Detroit, sat out again on Sunday.
Knicks Are 34-19, 2nd in Eastern Conference
The Knicks now are 34-19 and moved back into a tie for second place in the Eastern Conference with the Celtics, who scored their fewest points of the Joe Mazzulla era in the loss. The Knicks will play a back-to-back against the Pacers at home and then travel to Philadelphia on Tuesday and Wednesday before hitting the All-Star break.
Hart, for one, was impressed by Alvarado,
And now Alvarado, who is Puerto Rican, will be able to watch Sunday’s Super Bowl with a win under his belt–and he will be paying special attention to the halftime program where fellow Puerto Rican Bad Bunny will perform.
“Hell yeah,” Alvarado said, via the Post’s Stefan Bondy. “Can’t wait, you know. That’s a big opportunity for Puerto Ricans expanding. Especially me, being Boricua. But it’s big. For him to do what he did for us when he did the show (in Puerto Rico), it was tremendous. I went to the show, it was the best show I’ve ever been a part of. And he’s just doing a great job and I’m glad he’s able to show it at the highest level.”