Landry Shamet didn’t light up the box score Thursday, and that’s exactly why his night for the Knicks mattered.
In New York’s 122-120 win over Toronto, the veteran guard shook off a rough 1-for-5 mark from three and still pieced together a useful 24 minutes, 10 seconds off the bench. He finished with 13 points, and six of them came at the line, where he went 6-for-7. The shot didn’t fall cleanly from deep, but the rest of the outing held up.
Shamet also chipped in three assists and two steals while committing no turnovers. He shot 3-for-8 overall, so the scoring efficiency wasn’t pretty, but he didn’t give possessions back while trying to create. That mattered in a game where the Knicks coughed it up 19 times as a team.
The steals helped his case, though they don’t suddenly turn him into a finished product on defense. One strong stretch can’t erase the other stuff. Even his plus-14 has to be read in context, because that number reflects what happened with a specific group on the floor, not a standalone verdict.
He wasn’t the only reserve who made noise, either. Miles McBride knocked down three of six threes and scored nine points in 13 minutes, 28 seconds.
Jose Alvarado also had nine points and hit all three of his three-point tries. So Shamet’s performance didn’t settle any hierarchy by itself.
What it did show was a clear lane for his value. He can give the Knicks shooting without forcing him to carry the offense. McBride brings shot-making, Alvarado brings ball-handling, and the staff still has to sort out which mix fits best based on matchups and available minutes.
Shamet still has to prove he can do more than one in five from deep over a real sample. Thursday wasn’t about declaring his role fixed. It was about showing that a bad night from outside doesn’t have to make the rest of his game disappear.
In Other News...
Jose Alvarados Knicks Fit Suddenly Looks More Complicated
Jose Alvarados early Knicks audition has been a little messier than the energy he brings usually suggests. Through four preseason games, the guard has had trouble getting it going offensively, knocking down just 36.0% of his shots and coming up short on most of his looks from deep, which has made the fit around him feel less straightforward than it might have looked on paper.
The bigger question is where he actually slots best in New Yorks rotation. His impact has been noticeably better when he shares the floor with Karl-Anthony Towns than when he is paired with other centers, a reminder that lineup context matters as much as individual effort. Alvarado has dealt with shooting slumps like this before and also has a track record of working his way out of them, but for now the Knicks are still trying to sort out what his most effective version looks like. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Fans Have Every Right To Side-Eye Dallas Over Moussa Cisse
The Mavericks handling of Moussa Cisse has given Knicks fans another reason to roll their eyes at Dallas. After matching New Yorks offer sheet, the Mavs now may look at removing him from the roster in order to keep Dwight Powell, a twist that makes the original decision look less like a clean basketball call and more like a move made with the Knicks in mind. For a team that has crossed paths with New York before in player and coach movement, the optics are hard to ignore.
From the Knicks side, it is the kind of episode that fuels the old suspicion that rival front offices sometimes care just as much about blocking a competitor as improving their own roster. If Dallas does end up moving on from Cisse after matching the offer, it would only sharpen the sense that the Mavericks first choice was driven by something beyond the player himself. For a Knicks fan base already attuned to every slight, it is the sort of front-office drama that is easy to side-eye. [Read more 🡒]
Nets Rebuild Could Put One Veteran's Future In Immediate Doubt
Karl-Anthony Towns has already made clear what the Knicks think they added in Andre Drummond, calling the veteran center a valuable piece after he arrived on a one-year minimum deal following his season in Philadelphia. For a team that is trying to stay in the thick of the East, Drummond gives New York another experienced frontcourt option, and his presence only adds to the depth questions that will follow the roster all season.
The bigger roster watch, though, may be how the Knicks balance short-term stability with longer-term decisions around the edges. Miles McBrides extension talks have reportedly stalled, which has fueled speculation he could be moved before the February deadline, while the team is also hoping Mohamed Diawara takes a step forward in his second year. Across town, the Nets are still sorting out their own rebuilding path, with their playoff hopes tied to young-player growth and possible trade maneuvering, a backdrop that could shape the market New York has to navigate. [Read more 🡒]