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The New Orleans Pelicans have won four of their last five and six of their last eight games. They've been on a roll since a mid-November players-only meeting.
It's almost hard to believe that the franchise and Zion Williamson were being called out by highly influential media members and NBA Hall-of-Famers just last week. Jose Alvarado was not hearing any of it after a 112-107 road win over the Charlotte Hornets on Friday.
Jose Alvarado's words of encouragement for Zion Williamson
Williamson has bounced back since the Pelicans lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the In-Season Tournament Semifinals. In the last two games, the newly-minted father is averaging 28.5 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal and/or block per game. Williamson is shooting 67% from the field and 82% from the free-throw line with only two turnovers. It has been an encouraging comeback for a young phenom in need of a long stretch of good health.
Following Friday's win, Alvarado did not mince words when asked about Zion Williamson's performance and the amplified criticism of him the past few weeks.
“He's human. He heard all that noise about that game against [Los Angeles]. One thing about it, we could get on him but the whole world, no. You could say they're trying to push him to be great. Obviously, we appreciate that,” he said. “But f*** all that negative talk. He's a human being. We can get on him but, you know, like I said with that whole world turning against him stuff, he learned. He's young still and we've got his back so it doesn't matter, all that other stuff. He hears it. He's human. We all in this generation go on our phones and stuff is going to pop up but whatever.”
Jose Alvarado give long, well done response to those with “unnecessary” criticism on Zion Williamson.#Pelicans pic.twitter.com/yILD7e4Pi0
— Dodson, Chris Dodson (@DoingItDodson) December 16, 2023
Alvarado continued his criticism of Williamson's most vocal skeptics, sharing his most pointed words for sports talking heads.
“All that stuff is pretty corny to me. We trying to get him better. He hears it and he's responding. That's a 23-year-old responding to the whole world telling him something he does not want to hear. It's whatever. We got his back. As long as he knows we got his back there ain't no need to listen to all that (outside noise). We told him what he needed to hear. All the other stuff I feel like is pretty unnecessary. When you're a star, that all comes with that. He understands that and took it the right way.”
The Grand Theft Alvarado extraordinaire empathized with the Pelicans' foundational centerpiece.
“[Williamson's] professional, bro. I don't know how I would respond. I don't know how he can do it at that age,” Alvarado said. “He handles it very well. I crash out when I have bad games and I'm not even a star. I'm a role player. I go in there and lose my mind…He stays professional. He accepts all the criticism. He's a good dude. He's a person that's growing. And [the Pelicans] have got his back.” Alvarado said to wrap up the Williamson-related portion of the post-game press conference.
The next two games will have an even brighter spotlight than a usual December contest. First up is a trip to face Victor Wembanyama's San Antonio Spurs. Then comes a home date for what is shaping up to be Ja Morant's season debut for the Memphis Grizzlies.
