This statistic proves Brandon Ingram and Jose Alvarado are polar opposites

By all accounts, Brandon Ingram and Jose Alvarado have always gotten along. And it makes sense. Alvarado is a fun-loving jokester, while Ingram is more of the laid-back, quiet type. Neither one of them has what one would classify as an abrasive personality.

However, when it comes to their playstyles, they couldn’t be any more opposite. And we aren’t talking about their stark difference in height (Alvarado is 6’0, and Ingram is 6’8). We’re talking about this recent statistic from NBA.com’s tracking data that was brought to light by the NBA University Twitter page (or whatever they call it nowadays).

Well, would you look at that. What are the odds that one of the slowest players (based on average movement speed) and one of the least slowest players (or should we say fastest) both play for the New Orleans Pelicans? 

Just like the two players possess a stark contrast in size, they are polar opposites when it comes to their playstyles. Ingram is more of the methodical type. The kind of player that likes to set up shop in the midrange, using his wide array of mid-post moves to execute defenses in the same vein as Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan once upon a time.

On the other end of the spectrum, Alvarado is a jitterbug who makes his bones on both ends of the floor by being the most frenetic fellow on the floor. This difference is fully captured in the statistic referenced by NBA University.

Coincidentally enough, most of the top 10 in this category is made up of isolations like Ingram. Players like James Harden, DeMar DeRozan, and Kevin Durant also occupy the upper portion of this list. Meanwhile, the bottom part of this list where Alvarado sits is made up of names we often associate with possessing a high motor, people like Jaden McDaniels and Josh Green.

As an aside, maybe this statistic is something we can look to use as a proxy for evaluating how high/low a player’s motor is. But that’s just a thought.