Jose Alvarado grabbed the spotlight in the New York Knicks’ 138-89 road win against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday, as he dropped 26 points (season-high), three rebounds, four assists, five steals, and eight three-pointers on 8-for-13 shooting from the field in 19 minutes off the bench.
In just his third game as a member of the New York Knicks, Alvarado has already ingratiated himself with the fans to the point that the visiting fans serenaded his name last night because of his excellent two-way performance.
“That’s what we need. That’s what we want from him,” Josh Hart said of Alvarado via Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. “Obviously, that toughness, ability to help us get organized, ability to knock down shots. And defensively bring energy, bring physicality, get in the passing lanes, those kinds of things. That’s why he’s here.”
“His quickness, his ability to shoot the basketball, his ability to pass and make plays without getting knocked off his body, is going to be huge,” head coach Mike Brown said. “But he had a great offensive game for us and we need that fire from him. We need that passion. We need that sense of urgency, and it sparks us.”
New York Knicks News: Jose Alvarado’s initial quote on arriving to New York resurfaces
Jose Alvarado recently spoke candidly about his initial reaction when he learned he was going to the New York Knicks, and the 27-year-old guard expressed his excitement about playing for his hometown team.
“I mean, just it was a lot of you know mixed emotions,” Alvarado stated. “I heard the news obviously it was great news, you know coming back home and stuff. So it was exciting, you know, just being here, just being in the city that I raised at is a dope feeling, and putting the Knicks jersey on. It’s pretty surreal for me.”
“Yeah, I mean to be honest, I can’t even say I ever dreamed about this, you know,” he admitted. “I mean, if you know my story, I’m not saying I wasn’t gonna make it to the NBA, but it was a big question for me, you know, so just to be a part of the city is like I said, it’s just a surreal feeling.”
