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The New Orleans Pelicans and Jose Alvarado can be described as many things but passive-aggressive is not one. The team has been confronting issues head-on this season, and Alvarado is one of the most upfront, outspoken reserves in the entire league.
Sometimes big personalities can clash in the heat of the moment. Thankfully, any ill feelings from the dust-up were quashed with a quick hug before Alvarado took a seat on the bench.
Zion Williamson's ‘ridiculous' dunk will be the night's highlight, but the Pelicans had to work through some challenging moments. No, not the Pelicans' social media team roasting Stephen A. Smith, again. The Georgia Tech alum was upset that New Orleans let the Brooklyn Nets cut the second-half lead down to single digits within a minute of him checking into the game. Those kinds of energy drains do not happen on his watch.
Alvarado was worked up and voicing his displeasure during the third quarter of a 104-91 road win over the Nets. First, Alvarado committed a foul 14 seconds after entering the game at the 4:30 mark. Then the Pelicans got a delay of game violation (4:16). The Nets grabbed an offensive rebound and Jalen Wilson cut the lead down to nine. Jonas Valanciunas missed a four-foot hook shot (3:34) and Brandon Ingram tossed the ball away on the next possession (3:12).
Next, it was a foul by Trey Murphy III followed by a bad pass by Williamson. Valanciunas was stripped on the next trip down the floor. Willie Green called a timeout after Alvarado secured a defensive rebound a few seconds later. There was 1:54 on the clock following a sloppy few minutes from the Pelicans. Alvarado let the entire arena know the Pelicans were not meeting the required standard.
Green's Pelicans fueled by Jose Alvarado's energy
Green took no issue with the confrontation. Close-knit families have to deal with the occasional dust-up. Alvarado's passion is part of the team's identity. It just has to be channeled properly.
“I love Jose. He is one of my favorite players, one of my favorite people,” Green admitted. “I'm grateful, we're all grateful, to have him on our team. He is a competitor. He is everything we embody as a Pelicans organization. Sometimes you've got to light a fire under your guys. He was upset. I was upset. Those things happen. He goes back out there and he goes after it.”
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Alvarado had several sources of frustration at the time, some of it tied to his own performance. He was the only Pelicans player to wind up with a negative plus/minus in the victory. The undrafted fan favorite finished with three points, three rebounds, an assist, a steal, and a turnover in front of over 100 friends and family members. The NYC native made just one shot (1-3) and missed both free throws in 17 minutes of action.
It was a relatively quiet night for a player accustomed to putting on a show in his hometown. Alvarado's response to adversity was pugnacious as usual.
“It’s extremely unique,” Green laughed. “I say this jokingly, but it’s kind of true. I don’t know anyone in the NBA who is 6 feet and under who is nice. All those guys are kind of like a Chihuahua. They bite you. They bark. They are ready to fight at any time. That’s what makes Jose unique. He’s that way. To make it to this level, you kind of sort of have to have that.”
“It starts with his heart,” Green continued. “He plays with his heart and soul every game. It’s hard to bottle that up into a stat. Then you add his instincts. He has tremendous on-court defensive instincts. It’s why he was ACC Defensive Player of the Year. With all the talent in that conference, it was him. He only knows how to play one way. That’s the beautiful part about Jose. He brings it 110% every time he steps on the floor.”
Regardless of Alvarado's one-night stat lines or temporary sources of frustrations, Green and the Pelicans are on the right path. The team is on a 50-win pace and their overlooked, underappreciated key reserves are a big part of that success according to Green.
“We’re trying to build starting with our foundation,” Green said. “It starts with the people we bring in our building that contribute to having a healthy program, high character people that bring a ton of energy, hard workers, top to bottom. That’s the program that we’re trying to build — it’s a sustainable winning culture and it feels like we’re trending in a good way right now.”
