The New Orleans Pelicans Summer League schedule will commence on Saturday and fans are excited to see the new players, as well as the guys who already contributed to last season’s playoff run.
The Pels will have a lineup featuring three players that were getting run in the playoffs in Jose Alvarado, Trey Murphy III and Naji Marshall, but they’ll still be hungry as they are all trying to earn minutes on a loaded roster.
Coach Willie Green knows it’s a “good problem to have” and the competition for minutes will officially begin in Las Vegas on Saturday.
In addition to rookies Dyson Daniels and EJ Liddell, there will be a host of lesser known players hoping to get a chance to impress, which should make for a competitive and fun Summer League for the New Orleans Pelicans.
Here are three questions I have before the Pels tip things off in Sin City.
New Orleans Pelicans: 3 questions for Summer League
#1: Is Jose Alvarado’s shooting for real?
Jose Alvarado played well for Puerto Rico in the FIBA World Cup qualifiers recently. He was defending as always, making plays and hitting shots from all three levels.
Alvarado also looked comfortable off the ball, hitting over 40 percent of his 3-point shots with a shot which appeared to have some tweaks.
Jose is going to play and make an impact for the New Orleans Pelicans whether he can make 3-point shots or not, but if he can knock them down at a higher rate, the Pels’ offense is going to be nearly impossible to stop.
If Jose can knock down the open looks he’ll undoubtedly get, it will open up more lineup possibilities and more half court sets with Alvarado playing off the ball.
I doubt Jose Alvarado will play heavy minutes in Summer League, but he looks really confident right now and it will be great if can keep up the hot shooting.