Now is the perfect time for Pelicans to try Jose Alvarado

The New Orleans Pelicans have gotten next to nothing from their bench, so now may be the time to try something new.

The NBA recently changed the rule so that two-way players like Jose Alvarado can play in unlimited games this season in a response to the number of players out with COVID.

The Pelicans have Alvarado and Daulton Hommes on two-way deals, but Hommes is still out indefinitely with an injury.

The New Orleans Pelicans need some kind of bench upgrade, as their bench has been terrible all season, particularly at backup point guard.

Tomas Satoransky is currently shooting 31 percent overall and an astounding 13 percent from 3-point range, so it is not like he is impacting the game positively in his 15 minutes per game.

Why not give Jose Alvarado a chance at those minutes?

Tomas Satoransky is not the answer for the New Orleans Pelicans

Jose Alvarado provides a couple of things that Satoransky does not.

He is a very good on-the-ball defender and is one of those guys who can come into a game, get a steal and instantly inject some life into a bench unit.

He is also super quick and can at least pressure the ball, cause some chaos and run. Alvarado isn’t much of a shooter either, but he has averaged 7.3 assists per game in the G-League and would give the Pels more of a traditional point guard off the bench.

I’m definitely not saying Alvarado is the answer, as he has major flaws and is only six feet tall. But I guarantee you Alvarado isn’t going to dog it on the court and his energy alone might be enough to wake up this bench unit, which is really hampering the Pelicans right now.

Perhaps Alvarado can do a better job of breaking down the defense, setting up teammates and can get someone like Nickeil Alexander-Walker going. It’s worth a shot, because at this point Satoransky isn’t doing anything.

Sato is listed as day-to-day on the injury report, so now may be the perfect time to give Alvarado a chance to get this bench going.