Jose Alvarado Rejoins Knicks Rotation as Landry Shamet Slides

jose alvarado is back in the Knicks rotation, and Landry Shamet has slid into garbage-time duty during the playoffs. The move comes after New York needed more dedicated ball handling from its second unit, a shift that has changed the shape of the bench.

Shamet’s leash tightened fast after Game 1, when he scored three points on 1-of-6 shooting in 17 minutes. In the next game, he went scoreless and committed two turnovers on poor decisions.

Mike Brown Tightens The Bench

Over the last three contests, Shamet played only nine minutes. That drop left Alvarado with a clearer path back into the rotation, especially with the second unit looking for a steadier organizer when the offense bogged down.

Shamet had been expected to provide points and three-point shooting off the bench after a bounce-back regular season in 2025-26. He had supplied that kind of help before the playoffs, but the postseason has been far less forgiving.

Shamet’s Playoff Slide

His shooting numbers tell the story. Shamet is 2-of-8 from deep in the playoffs, and his defensive rating of 110.1 ranks fourth-worst among all Knicks in these playoffs.

That combination pushed him to the edge of the rotation while Alvarado moved back into it. For New York, the immediate effect is a bench that can handle the ball more cleanly, and the longer-range effect is that Shamet’s playoff role now looks far less secure than it did in the regular season.

Knicks Bench Ball Handling

Mike Brown’s choice also reflects the way the Knicks are managing support minutes in the postseason. With Alvarado back in the mix and Shamet reduced to garbage time, the team has made its bench priority clear: cleaner possession work over a shot-making gamble that has not held up in the last three games.

“It's amazing. I can't really put it in words” was Shamet’s response to the turnaround he had in the regular season, but the playoffs have moved in the opposite direction. The rotation change leaves that early bounce-back as the standard he will now have to chase again.