Nickeil Alexander-Walker tore up preseason, sets stage for big rookie year

Riding on the heels of an undefeated preseason, Nickeil Alexander-Walker showed the Pelicans he’s ready to tear it up right out of the gate.

The New Orleans Pelicans seem to have found something in the first round of the draft, but that something wasn’t either of their top-ten picks. Nickeil Alexander-Walker is coming off an electric preseason and with Zion Williamson missing “a period of weeks” early in the season, he could be the first Pels rookie to make a big splash in the NBA.

Falling all the way to the 17th pick and being drafted to New Orleans, Alexander-Walker joins the Pelicans after two seasons of college basketball at Virginia Tech.

Examining the physical profile of Alexander-Walker, his 6’5.5″ height (in shoes) with a 6’9.5″ wingspan gives him great length, while his 204 LBS make him light, but not too light to attack bigger defenders.

Considering his 16.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4 assists, and 37.4% three-point rate in college, it was kind of surprising for a 21-year-old scoring guard to slip out of the lottery. Since the pick, Alexander-Walker was voted the steal of the 2019 NBA Draft by league executives.

Jumping off the page is his ability to the flat-out ball, which is sometimes an underrated value at the NBA Draft Combine. While he’s not the fastest or strongest, he’s a really smart and seasoned basketball talent at just 21-years-old.

While Pelicans fans might not have caught much of Alexander-Walker at the collegiate level, his red-hot run through the preseason might’ve caught their attention.

Alexander-Walker finished second on the team with 15.3 ppg during the preseason. He also averaged 4 assists, 2.6 rebounds, and shot a ridiculous 46.7% from three-point range.

Most convincing to his case was his play at the end of preseason games when Alvin Gentry called on his bench to close out the exhibition matches.

Notably, his 13 points and 7 assists during the team’s 23-point come back victory against the Chicago Bulls pushed home the point about Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s ability to close games.

So far, it seems like the Pelicans have someone who they can trust to run their offense in spots, as they did to close preseason games. Alexander-Walker demonstrated good control of the team’s offensive flow and found really good interplay with his teammates, most notably fellow rookie Nicolò Melli.

If he’s someone who Gentry can trust to keep the pace up with the team’s starters out of rotation, he’ll have the chance to play a lot of meaningful time to start his career.

With a lot of guard talent on the Pelicans’ roster, Nickeil Alexander-Walker will have to play well to keep his minutes.

It’s not going to be the easiest sailing during Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s first season in the National Basketball Association; the New Orleans Pelicans have a lot of roster depth, making it harder for non-starters to earn guaranteed minutes.

Lonzo Ball, Jrue Holiday, Josh Hart and J.J. Redick are all ahead of Alexander-Walker on the depth chart. Frank Jackson already has a year under his belt, plus two full seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans organization. E’twaun Moore will need minutes.

The best way for Alexander-Walker to earn minutes will be to continue finding comfort with the team’s primary scoring guards, who he hasn’t shared the floor with much in a Pelicans uniform.

Holiday and Ball are going to do a bulk of the team’s ball-handling this season, but if Alexander-Walker can even occasionally allow them to take a possession off-ball, it’ll be beneficial for their offense. The team’s guards will benefit from the catch-and-shoot looks fed their way by others.

Seemingly, Alexander-Walker hasn’t had much of a problem gelling with his other teammates, especially as he’s been given increasing opportunity throughout the summer to take the floor.

After he crushed his way through Summer League, finishing third in scoring, averaging 24.3 points, 6 assists, and 4.8 rebounds, it seemed like he would be an early contributor for the Pelicans.

While Alexander-Walker will get regular minutes, he really needs to continue playing well if he wants to stay in the heavily involved in the rotation throughout the season.

Heading into opening night, it seems Alexander-Walker will be the second or third option off of the New Orleans pelicans bench.

When the regular season tips-off tomorrow against the Toronto Raptors, Nickeil Alexander-Walker will get to play minutes. How effective he is against the reigning NBA Champions will be must-watch material, especially without his fellow rookie standout Williamson on the floor.

The best-case scenario for the rookie would be to have a repeat performance for some of his preseason outings, but that’ll be harder. Alvin Gentry will be looking to his starting unit to be the show-savers, regardless of Alexander-Walkers’ surging exhibition looks.

Truly, the Pelicans could use Alexander-Walker as a scoring surge off the bench, allowing him to take some looks in somewhere between 15 and 18 minutes of action.

Against the Raptors, he’ll have taskmaster defenders in Fred VanVleet and Norman Powell trying to shut him down as Alexander-Walker runs with the second unit. He could divide the bench of Eastern Conference playoff hopefuls, but against defending Finals winners, it’ll be a tougher task.

Tomorrow night, Nickeil Alexander-Walker has a chance to make a big splash in his native Toronto, Canada, a place he’s proudly boasted as somewhere he wants to both bring a FIBA crown and spend his days after basketball.

With the Pelicans taking to the road, the rookie’s ability to play with an edge in his home city could prove monumental in the win-loss column. If anything, sharp play from the Pelicans bench would help to dampen the notoriously loud Raptors crowd.

The regular season tips off tomorrow night from Canada and Nickeil Alexander-Walker is one of the most interesting pieces to watch from this New Orleans Pelicans roster on opening night. How much he impacts this team early might influence their playoff position down the road.