In Puerto Rico’s first game of the Paris Olympics, New Orleans Pelicans point guard Jose Alvarado had to be helped off the court after his teammate stepped on his foot in the second quarter.
#Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado (19 pts in the 1st half) suffered what looks like Olympic tournament ending right leg injury#PuertoRico leading against #SouthSudan at the half 54-48 pic.twitter.com/VPzZ5TSy7j
— Darko Dželetović (@DarDZel) July 28, 2024
Leading both Puerto Rico and opponent South Sudan with 19 points at halftime. He wasn’t on the court to start the second half. However, he did return early in the third quarter.
Pelicans’ Jose Alvarado Suffers Injury During Paris Olympics
This is a big blow not only to Puerto Rico and potentially the Pelicans.
Named an MVP of the 2024 Olympic Qualifiers, Alvarado is key to Puerto Rico’s success. Though they aren’t projected to win a medal, they’re hoping to. Playing for pride and country, Puerto Rico’s brought the fight every game they’ve been in this year.
With that being said, Alvarado’s fiery defense and shot-making flurries have been a sight to behold in his national colors. Yet, it’s nothing new to NBA fans.
One of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA, the New York native has averaged 20.0 minutes per game the past two seasons. In 2023-24, he came in sixth in Sixth Man of the Year voting after averaging 7.1 points and 1.1 steals per game. Though those numbers are admittedly modest, he notably knocked down a career-high 37.7 percent of his 3-pointers while ranking sixth on the team in total 3s and steals.
Dejounte Murray was always going to get the lion’s share of minutes at point guard next season. Nonetheless, nobody has ever played 48 minutes per game for an entire season. The Pelicans need somebody to play minutes behind him and likely prefer it to be Alvarado. This seems particularly true after they traded Dyson Daniels, another two-way playmaker, to the Atlanta Hawks for Murray.
Again, there hasn’t been an update on the severity of Alvarado’s injury. However, athletes have often played through pain and exacerbated the injury. Furthermore, because it’s what looked like an ankle or Achilles injury, there’s even trickier prognosis.
Hypothetically, Alvarado will be fine. Nonetheless, it’s a situation worth monitoring.
