Should Jose Alvarado Be Playing More?
The New Orleans Pelicans are a deep basketball team. Maybe sometimes too deep for their own good. As Coach Willie Green continues to experiment with lineups early in the season, there will occasionally be an odd man out. Lately, in the fourth quarter, that guy seems to be Jose Alvarado. Saturday night's game versus the Houston Rockets marked the first time this season that Alvarado has played more than 6 minutes in the 4th quarter.
It indeed is not due to a lack of production from Jose when he's on the court. Alvarado has worked extremely hard to improve this offseason, including spending some time leading the Puerto Rico national team against Team USA. It's starting to bear fruit for the Pelicans.
Teaming up with a future Hall of Famer to improve your game doesn't hurt as well. Alvarado requested the services of San Antonio Spurs great Tony Parker and Parker obliged by training with Alvarado this past summer. You can already see Parker's patented teardrop shot in Jose's repertoire.
Jose has also made a dramatic improvement in his three-point shooting. Alvarado shot just 29% from beyond the arc as an undrafted rookie. This season, the playoff-tested vet improved that to nearly 42%, which is second overall on the team among those who have taken a minimum of 10 three-point shots.
Alvarado knows the key for him to continue to get playing time is by being a threat when he's on the court. “When I’m out there with them — CJ, B.I., Zion — they are leaving someone open,” Alvarado recently said. “I’m going to make them pay. Me making shots makes them second-guess. 'All right, we can’t just leave him open.' I just want to do my part and be a threat out there.”
Apr 24, 2022; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado (15) steals the ball from Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul (3) during the second half of game four of the first round of the 2022 NBA playoffs at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
He's proving to be more than just a threat on the court, but an overall impactful player. The Pelicans are a +9.7 per 100 possessions over their opponents when Alvarado's playing as opposed to watching from the bench. Extrapolate that production over an 82-game season and that differential is enough for +22 wins.
He also has the fifth-highest plus/minus on the team per 100 possessions. Defensively, he's averaging around 1 steal per game, and when he's on the court the opponent's turnover percentage increases by over 1%. So why hasn't Jose been playing more?
That isn't always the easiest question to answer. Alvarado ranks 9th on the team in minutes per game at 18.8 a contest. but Devonte' Graham has played a lot of fourth-quarter minutes. Graham has done well for the most part and matchups often dictate which guys flow in and out of the lineup.
A CJ McCollum and Jose lineup has proven to be some of the more porous lineups defensively because they both are smaller guards and opponents take advantage of this constantly on switches. The Pacers for instance ran out a fourth-quarter squad that featured no player under 6'4 for the entire fourth quarter. Still, Jose's impactfulness may warrant some additional playing time this season.
Mar 13, 2022; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado (15) shoots the ball against the Houston Rockets during the third quarter at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Wevers-USA TODAY Sports
Just look at the impact in Saturday night's game versus the Rockets. In the fourth quarter alone Jose scored 8 points, grabbed 2 rebounds, dished out 4 assists, and had 3 steals. Jose was a +13 while in the game, the highest among all bench players that night.
One thing is certain. When Jose is in the game he will surely give it his all. Win, lose, or draw Alvarado will try to be the spark the Pelicans need off the bench. That spark is looking to flame more as the season goes on.
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