When NBA Players Play Hide & Seek...

If you look closely after this made basket, you’ll see this little guy, Jose Alvarado from the Pelicans sneaking from out of bounds, tip-toeing behind the ball handler and getting a steal that would ultimately lead to a layup for his teammate.
What you’re about to see is how Jose Alvarado became popular in the NBA in just a few games by literally playing hide and seek with his opponents.
What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it.
After the made three pointer, you can see him in the corner, literally hiding behind the bench guys, so as the Bulls inbound the ball, he sneaks from behind and surprises Carusso which causes a traveling violation. This is exactly how Jose got the nickname Grand Theft Alvarado.
Dude is always hiding, lurking from behind, being a constant threat for the ball handlers.
As you watch some more of his greatest hits so far in his young career, let me just point out that he started out his rookie year as an undrafted player in the G-League. He was on a 2 way contract with the New Orleans Pelicans, and occasionally got some playing time due to players being in health and safety protocols.
So Alvarado made the most out of that opportunity. By always playing hard, and leaving everything on the floor, not only did he become a popular player among New Orleans fans, but eventually the team recognized the effort and passion that he plays with, so they gave him a 4 year deal worth 6.5 million.
That did not change anything about his approach however since he’s always aggressive, and putting pressure on his opponents.
Also, Jose doesn’t get intimidated from the much more famous and accomplished players that he goes up against.
D'Angelo Russell legitimately did not know who he was guarding so he asked the coaches but before they could answer, Alvarado told him himself.
And back in January he got into a little back and forth with Joel Embiid, so they got a double technical. But Embiid loved the feistiness and actually paid Alvarado’s fine.
So not only does he get recognition from the fans, the media, but the opponents as well.
Jose has been getting more and more playing time, so the past 10 games, he’s up to 20 minutes per game, averaging 8.5 points and 3.9 assists and 1.5 steals in that time.
He is becoming a real contributing piece to this team, and has had a significant impact in the Pelicans push for the play-in tournament.
At the end, I gotta mention that his sneakiness reminds me of Pablo Prigioni, who was the oldest rookie in NBA history, as he came into the league from Europe at 35 years of age.
All of that experience that he had, he used it to catch players by surprise and get a ton of steals off of inbounds.
Up until now, Prigioni was the undisputed king of this category, but I guess there’s a new GOAT in Jose Alvarado.
As a little guy myself, I’m so happy that hard work and effort paid off, and that he got a nice contract from the Pelicans. That’s it for now, subscribe and talk to you in the next one. Peace out.