Jose Alvarado Fuels Energy Boosts For Zion Williamson, Pelicans
Zion Williamson's energy levels were off the charts in Jose Alvarado's fourth-ever appearance in the New Orleans Pelicans' starting five. It was not an unexpected development, as the New Orleans locker room has constantly praised Alvarado's fiery leadership.
Alvarado "changes the temperature of the room, and he does it intentionally." Those were the words of current Birmighman Squadron head coach T.J. Saint, who served as an assistant last season. "He just makes everything that you try to execute on your own offensive end very difficult. He just blows things up and messes up timing. He just plays fierce. It's a level above hard. It's fierce."
Alvardo's inclusion into the starting lineup in San Antonio was just one piece of a blowout win on Williamson's big night. However, Jose deserves more credit for the team's success this season than his six-foot frame might suggest. Larry Nance Jr. has given Alvarado credit for at least a handful of wins and, against the Spurs, Alvarado sank the dagger three-pointer that all but secured the victory.
The Pelicans played with an urgency from the start to finish off San Antonio early. New Orleans was constantly pushing the pace even when sporting a 20-point lead in the second quarter. All 12 Pelicans who played made at least one shot, New Orleans made 14-33 three-pointers, and Williamson ended his night with 11 straight successful field goals.
Williamson finished with 32 points, with 30 points coming in the first three quarters. Zion produced a highlight in every quarter and finished off a few plays with a bicep flex. Jeremy Sochan felt the full brunt of Williamson's weight room work but the Jose-Zion mirror flexing early in the first quarter showed just how much this team enjoys working with each other.
Williamson flexed after bullying through Sochan to gain two more points in the paint, which gave New Orleans a 37-19 just over 9 minutes before halftime. It was the second time Zion and Jose showed off their muscles on the night, with a half-court alley-oop from Jose to Zion sandwiched in between.
Advanced stats and the eye test both come to the same conclusions. Alvarado's energy leads to an increase in communication and focus on both ends of the court for everyone. Williamson, for example, has heard the noise about his defense from the critics and made significant improvements through the team's first two months of regular season action.
"Defensively, I’m starting to find my movements and feeling the game out and really seeing the game," Williamson said. "I was happy about it last game. This game, it just trickled over to my offense.”
Green said after a 129-110 road win over Gregg Popovich's San Antonio Spurs, "Every day that (Alvarado) walks in, not only does he work hard but he lifts the whole team up with his smile, with his honesty. His trash-talking in practice gets everybody going. It's fun to be around, honestly."
“Defensively, I thought we started the game with the right mindset. We held it throughout the course of the game, which is hard to do. And it’s just simple, keeping teams out of the paint, contesting shots, rebounding the ball, and communicating defensively. So I’m proud of our guys for how we played defensively tonight.” Green answered in the post-game press conference.
Alvarado did not have to say much on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving Day. Jose's presence alone was enough to get Williamson amped up for a mid-season road game against a six-win opponent. The chemistry between Zion and Jose brings out the best in both players, which in turn has helped the Pelicans rip their way up to a battle for first place in the Western Conference.
The second-year undrafted sensation is no one-trick pony with sneaky steals either. Alvarado ran the offensive show for long stretches and kept possessions alive for second-chance points.
“It shows he’s a true point guard," Williamson said. "He can also be very aggressive. That keeps the defense guessing. Jose can rally off 10 points in a row, whether people know that or not.”
“It’s just such a blessing to coach these guys. They’re fun to be around. It’s hard to win in the NBA, especially coming into this building. The things that I mentioned to them, we’ve got to continue to set the standard of who we want to be and what we want to achieve." said Green of getting to coach Jose, Zion, and the rest of this upbeat group.
The New Orleans Pelicans flew home from San Antonio after the win to spend Thanksgiving Day with their families but will fly out late Thursday evening for Friday's matchup against Ja Morant's Memphis Grizzlies. With the right energy, the New Orleans Pelicans will come home with the best record in the Western Conference.
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