At this point, it's well understood what kind of abilities Jose Alvarado is capable of providing to this New York Knicks team. From his reliable ball-handling skills to his scrappy defensive play, the point guard is an Energizer Bunny type of talent who can help fuel a momentum shift all on his own.
However, there's still one particular skill set he needs to refine in order for him to reach his full potential in the Big Apple.
Since making his debut with the Knicks back on February 8, Alvarado has been incredibly inconsistent with his shooting stroke, particularly from long range.
One game, he'll find himself knocking down eight shots from beyond the arc at a 61.5 percent clip. The next five, he'll make a combined five triples on a putrid 21.7 shooting percentage.
Throughout his 13 games donning the white, blue, and orange threads, Alvarado has only knocked down 28.3 percent of his shots from deep and 39.0 percent of his shots from the field overall.
Jose Alvarado has been a negative for Knicks in the shooting department
To make matters worse, post All-Star Weekend, Alvarado ranks dead-last on the team in on-court field goal percentage and three-point percentage among those who have logged over 150 minutes of action, while the Knicks find their third and first-best marks, respectively, with these same qualifiers when he's been riding the pine.
Needless to say, even with his top marks on the team (minimum 150 minutes) in both defensive rating and overall net rating since coming back from the All-Star break, there's still much to be desired from the veteran's game.
Whether it's Jordan Clarkson or beloved rookie Mohamed Diawara, the theme for coach Mike Brown's tertiary rotation has seemingly been that if your shot's not falling, you'll be hitting the bench.
Alvarado experienced this in full force during Sunday's embarrassment of a loss against the LeBron James-less Los Angeles Lakers, where he played a mere seven minutes of action (his lowest since joining the Knicks) while finishing with zero points on 0-for-2 shooting from the floor.
Fortunately, the 27-year-old has certainly shown flashes of being a reliable shooter over the last few years, boasting a success rate of 36.5 percent on attempts from deep from 2023-24 through his 43 games played with the New Orleans Pelicans in 2025-26.
Considering his defensive excellence, should Alvarado once again find this groove from distance, it could prove to be an absolute game-changer come playoff time.