With Zion Williamson getting healthy and returning to the New Orleans Pelicans in 2022-23, Jose Alvarado sees himself playing a bigger and more important role for the franchise.

Alvarado expects defenses to focus more on Williamson when the athletic star forward returns. As a result, he believes he'll get more open shots and opportunities to score since defenders won't be keeping an eye on him.

Of course that means Alvarado has to improve his shooting, but that's something he's more than willing to do.

“We’ve got big-time players. Zion is going to be coming back, so I’m pretty sure (defenses are) not worried about me. I’m going to be open. I have to knock (shots) down,” Alvarado shared, per the team's website.

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Jose Alvarado certainly isn't wrong with his assessment. Zion Williamson is one of the most dominant forward in the NBA when healthy, and if he goes back to that level, the defense he requires from opponents also increases.

Considering that, it's not really hard to see Alvarado and the rest of the Pelicans benefitting from his return.

For what it's worth, Zion recently inked his $193 million max extension with the Pelicans–a deal that could very well balloon up to $231 million if he passes certain benchmarks. With that said, the young star has all the motivation in the world to play better and show that he is deserving of the money he's getting from New Orleans.

Williamson remains focused on helping the Pelicans make the playoffs and compete for the title. Fortunately for him, his teammates are more than ready to help him make that a reality.