Nickeil Alexander-Walker finding, making better shots for Pelicans

After ripping opponents to shreds in Summer League and preseason play, Nickeil Alexander-Walker is now making himself dangerous at the NBA level.

When this season got off to its 2-8 start, there were a lot of fingers to point in the New Orleans Pelicans locker room. However, as the team starts to find a two-way groove, the slow-starting Nickeil Alexander-Walker is starting to find a rhythm of his own.

The team really needed more out of the rookie early in the year. During the preseason, they relied on Nickeil Alexander-Walker as a primary bench scorer. When it came time for the regular season, he was shooting terrible shots and it had a direct effect on his make-miss rate.

Amidst the New Orleans Pelicans 2-8 start over their first ten games, Alexander-Walker was shooting 29% from the floor and from three-point range, but still attempting 6.2 shots in 12.3 minutes of play per game.

Through that same stretch, he was averaging just 2.4 assists and 2 rebounds, despite being a valuable two-way passing guard for Virginia Tech a season ago. He was also averaging an ugly 1.7 turnovers and 1.3 personal fouls per game, despite such limited playing time.

Seemingly, Nickeil Alexander-Walker is breaking out his slump after an ugly first ten games.

While it took until last night for the rookie to get going on the scoresheet, he’s looked much more creative in the previous two games against the gritty Miami Heat and LA Clippers.

Last night against the Heat, Alexander-Walker had a perfect stylistic performance. Scoring 27 points and hitting 6-of-9  from three, was the team’s marksman as they attempted to chase down a strong Heat team, who are now 5-0 at home.

Alexander-Walker also posted 4 assists and 3 rebounds against Miami.

Against Miami, the Pels seemed to feel the fire from Alexander-Walker, as Jrue Holiday and E’Twaun Moore both seemed to be passing and creating space for the rookie’s benefit.

What the Pelicans got out of Alexander-Walker last night is something this team has desperately needed all season, guys who can simply score the basketball. Without Brandon Ingram and J.J. Redick available last night, they really needed Alexander-Walker to be that man.

In turn, he delivered his best performance of his rookie campaign against a Heat squad that looks driven to chase the Eastern Conference Finals, as they’ve started the season on a convincing 9-3 run, looking up to the challenge against just about every team in their path.

The New Orleans Pelicans should be interested in how they can keep Nickeil Alexander-Walker going as a shot-maker for this team.

Drafted with the 17th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, the Pelicans are finally getting more of what they expected out of Nickeil Alexander-Walker.

The rookie was called one of the steals of the draft by NBA pundits across the league and even received praise from league officials, as 32% of respondents to the league-conducted GM survey said they thought Alexander-Walker was the ultimate heist from the 2019 crop.

Regardless of the hype, it was always going to come down to Alexander-Walker’s ability to make shots in the NBA, which he’s shown the ability to do when he takes good shots.

He’s shooting 48.8% of his shots from three, which is alright but leaves more to be desired. Alexander-Walker is also attempting just 23.3% of his shots from inside of three feet and attempting only 0.8 free throws per game, despite being an 80% shooter from on free looks.

A lot of the bad shots in Alexander-Walker’s repertoire come weak looks in the mid-range.

Attempting 28.9% of his shots in the mid-range, he’s making less than 35% from every distance between the three-point arc and inside of three feet.

The formula for improvement on Alexander-Walker’s ledger would diagnose more looks from deep and close, where he’s at his most effective.

Interestingly, the Pelicans are +2.4 with Nickeil Alexander-Walker on the floor and 10.2 worse with the rookie on their bench. This would seemingly directly contradict his 90 offensive and 116 defensive ratings, plus his -7 box plus/minus to start the year.

Fans won’t forget the epic belting of “A Thousand Miles” by Vanessa Carlton, as the rookie took part in rookie karaoke as a piece of the team’s open practice. Seriously, it’s an epic rendition.

Spending a lot of his rookie summer traversing New Orleans with teammates Zion Williamson and Jaxson Hayes, Alexander-Walker seems like someone on the fast track to Pelicans’ fan favorite.

What would really boost his status among fans is if his shots can keep falling. One impressive performance against Miami in the books, it’ll be interesting to see if the team can keep him going.

When the team hosts the undermanned Golden State Warriors tonight, Alvin Gentry will have to strongly consider giving Alexander-Walker similar minutes to what he earned against Miami. With the Pelicans still struggling to get healthy, his contributions would be valuable.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker is an incredibly interesting talent, but his shots will have to keep falling if he wants to keep raising his value for the future. With a high ceiling and unique shot-making ability, it could be a matter of time before we really see an Alexander-Walker breakout.