New Orleans Pelicans’ Hiatus Hype: Muscle, Weight Loss and Jumpers

The New Orleans Pelicans’ hype machine is working overtime. Here’s a roundup of the latest Pel’s rumors coming out of Florida.

There is a lot of “hiatus hype” coming out of NBA camps right now, especially for the New Orleans Pelicans, whose improvements have went viral.

It’s a lot like training camp, when every player has either lost 30 lbs. or put on 30 lbs. of muscle, added a new wrinkle to their game or figured out the one flaw and fixed it.

In the new world of coronavirus, training camp hype has been replaced with “hiatus hype,” and team sponsored-propaganda has started to emerge after the first day of practice.

Here is a roundup of the latest hype surrounding the New Orleans Pelicans.

J.J. Redick

Put Redick in the “lost weight” camp, as the hype surrounding him is that he is back to his old playing weight while at Duke after losing 10 lbs. If true, this is good news, as Redick is coming off a hamstring injury and it was unknown whether he’d be able to work out much during the break.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker

One of the more interesting rumors to emerge from the hiatus came from Pelicans’ VP of Basketball Operations, David Griffin, who claimed that Nickeil Alexander-Walker had grown nearly an inch during the suspension of play.

Huh? Is that possible? Most of us put on an inch around the waist, but apparently NAW was out there gaining height. He is only 21-years-old, so this is possible, but more likely a hometown measuring tape.

There was no word on NAW’s health, and it is still unclear if he will be available for NBA Disney.

Brandon Ingram

While Redick and NAW were losing weight and adding height, Brandon Ingram was more of a classic “He added muscle” guy. This one might have some merit, as Slenderman definitely looks bigger than he did at the beginning of the season.

This is also good news, as one of the Pelicans’ big weaknesses is that they get pushed around on the wing. Added muscle would also help Ingram deal with the physicality of a long season and hopefully help him avoid injuries.

Lonzo Ball

Lonzo Ball was put on blast for his terrible weight lifting form during the suspension of play, but apparently he still got results. Like Ingram, the hype surrounding Ball is that he put on muscle during the hiatus.

Both Lonzo and B.I. look bigger in this team practice video, which rode a wave of hype around the Internet:

Zion Williamson

No article about hype would be complete without Zion Williamson, who seems to make headlines every time he moves.

When a photo emerged that showed a slimmed down Zion wearing a mask, the Internet nearly exploded:

https://twitter.com/PelicansNBA/status/1278723691363385345

Not only has Zion lost weight, but is apparently adding some new wrinkles to his game.

If even half of the Zion hype is true, expect league domination shortly.

Josh Hart

At least one player kept it real and admitted to emerging from lockdown like the rest of us eventually will. We love you, Josh Hart.

https://twitter.com/joshhart/status/1281936191454097408

The New Orleans Pelicans’ hype machine is working overtime during the hiatus and I am sure there will be more stories about the miraculous things players were able to accomplish whilst in lockdown.