Jose Alvarado’s return from an ankle injury was supposed to put the Knicks’ backup point guard picture back in place. Instead, Tyler Kolek has pushed the door open, and Mike Brown seems willing to let him walk through it.
That shift showed up first on Monday against the Nets, when Brown chose Alvarado in the first-half rotation and gave him the usual look behind Jalen Brunson. Alvarado didn’t do much with it.
Then the game tightened, the Knicks trailed entering the fourth quarter, and Brown turned to Kolek with Brunson getting his normal rest. The third-year guard responded in a way that made the decision look a lot bigger than a one-night wrinkle.
Kolek’s line was modest on paper: two points, one rebound and one assist on 1-3 shooting. But the impact was there. He finished at +13 in five minutes and helped spark the comeback alongside Miles McBride and Jordan Clarkson as New York pulled out the win and avoided what would have been a rough loss to a Nets team that looked well below them.
Wednesday against the Bulls, Brown doubled down. This time, Kolek was the first reserve point guard off the bench, not Alvarado. If that was just a way to keep Chicago guessing in the rematch, it still sent a clear message: this job is no longer being treated like it belongs to Alvarado by default.
Brown explained the approach this way: “I said this before, every position coming off the bench is a competition, all the time. Nobody’s minutes are set in stone.
…Jose had the first opportunity in our last game. And then I gave Tyler an…
Kolek handled his expanded run well. He played 11 minutes, didn’t score, but handed out five assists without a turnover.
Alvarado, meanwhile, didn’t enter until late and had a rougher night: 0-4 from the field, two turnovers and two assists. Coming off the ankle injury and playing in a faster, late-game stretch that was already out of reach, it wasn’t the kind of outing that helps a player seize back a role.
That doesn’t mean the situation is locked in. Brown has made it clear he trusts both guards, and this could still be a matter of easing Alvarado back in, reading the matchup or simply riding the hotter hand.
But Wednesday looked like more than a temporary shuffle. It looked like evidence that Kolek may have moved into the lead.
And that’s where the Knicks find themselves: with two reserve point guards who can both help, but in very different ways. It’s a good problem to have, even if it’s a frustrating one for the players involved. It also gives New York options, including the possibility of moving one of them - or even Miles McBride.
Brown’s early-season rotations are still settling, as the defending champions try to balance winning now with developing younger players. This backup point guard battle is one of the clearest storylines to watch as that process continues.
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