Following the team’s trade for Jose Alvarado, New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown has played Jordan Clarkson significantly less. It seems as though Brown clearly sees Alvarado as a better option than Clarkson, at least, as a whole. Clarkson will inevitably get his chances, but right now, Alvarado seems like the lead guard off the pine.
Brown has dug into his bench much more than Tom Thibodeau did in recent years (which everyone expected heading into the season). That means more guys have been able to earn their chance to play. But with the Alvarado trade, it’s clear that Brown prefers his defense over Clarkson’s scoring.
Which makes sense, considering how much scoring the Knicks get from Jalen Brunson in the starting lineup.
Mike Brown prefers Jose Alvarado over Jordan Clarkson
Alvarado has been a major factor in the Knicks’ rotation through their first two games of the season. He’s not playing anywhere close to starter minutes, but he’s definitely been trusted more than Clarkson.
In Alvarado’s first game, in which the Knicks earned a blowout victory over the Boston Celtics at TD Garden, the scrappy point guard played an important role.
He finished the game with 12 points, two rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block while shooting 5-of-12 from the field and 2-of-6 from deep. But what was even more important than his stats was his defense.
Alvarado did a great job of pressuring Boston’s ball-handlers. This is likely the kind of thing that Brown is looking for, which is why Alvarado earned 25:04 off the bench in that game.
Then, in the Knicks’ next contest, Alvarado played 18:13 off the bench in an overtime loss to the Indiana Pacers. He had four points, one rebound, and five assists.
Again, Alvarado hasn’t been playing crazy minutes, but he’s clearly Brown’s first choice as the team’s go-to point guard behind Brunson.
As for Clarkson, he only played 7:32 in New York’s win over the Celtics in Boston, and against the Pacers, Brown only had him on the floor for 12:35.
Once Miles McBride returns, he will likely take Alvarado’s place as the team’s backup point guard, but even then, Alvarado should still earn his chances to play.
But once that happens, there will be even less room for Clarkson to earn minutes.
At this point, based on the first two games of Alvarado’s tenure in New York, it seems obvious that Brown prefers him over Clarkson.