Finally, Jose Alvarado has left the Pelicans infirmary! After a long nine-month battle marked by a stress fracture in the tibia of his right leg at the end of last season and a sprained right ankle during the restart, the leader made his return to play last night with key to a great victory against Sacramento (129-93).
Next to Brandon Ingram And Zion Williamson (31 and 26 points), the Puerto Rican resumed smoothly with 15 minutes of play for 5 points and 3 assists, but above all a big relief.
“I was nervous, not in the sense that I was afraid, but I was excited”, he confided after the match. “Two days before coming back, I told home that my stomach hurt. People told me I was nervous, but I didn’t want to accept it. But actually, I definitely was a little bit, and I’m glad to be out of it. I love this game so much. It was taken away from me for nine months, so it feels good to finally be able to come back. For example, I’m super excited to go to training tomorrow. There is nothing that can replace play.”
A smooth return
His nervousness was reflected when he entered the game when his hands shook a little, before Jose Alvarado found the rhythm of an NBA game and his place in Willie Green’s arsenal.
“I think my first two balls, I made two turnovers, so I said to myself: ‘But what am I doing?’ And then I went back to the bench, and all the coaches, all the players told me: ‘Hey, it’s nothing. It’s your first five-on-five game in nine months against another team, so it’s all good.’he said. “Zion Williamson literally told me he was going to get me, that they were going to get me back into rhythm, because they were going to need me on the field. And if you watch the video, he kept trying to find me. Again, I feel blessed to have these guys who are doing everything to try to find me so I can be who I am.”
Beyond his play and his aggressiveness on the field, the Pelicans appreciate his gusto, his desire and his relaxation, making him an important member of the locker room.
“He has a really unique aura, so when he’s there you can feel his presence,” for his part highlighted Zion Williamson. “When you see the energy with which he plays, his love of the game. It takes you back to your childhood memories, when you wanted to join the league. He still has this youthful energy about him, and I like that.”
His return was also marked by an emotional sequence, when he scored his first 3-point basket and looked up to the sky in tribute to his grandmother.
“I said to myself: ‘Finally, I made a basket in the NBA.’ There was a lot of emotion today, of course having been away from the field for so long, but also the fact that today is the birthday of my grandmother, who died seven years. I just had that in the back of my mind, telling myself how much of a blessing it was to be able to put on a jersey to play on an NBA floor.he added. “That shot was just a ‘thank you’ for all the rehab, everything I had to go through to get back and be able to get on the field.”
