Pelicans' Jose Alvarado is still sneaking up on the NBA: 'He just plays fierce'

Beloved in New Orleans, Jose Alvarado is proving he's more than the backcourt-steal guy

"You can't be small and miss 3s," Jose Alvarado said to himself. The 6-foot-nothing guard had biffed a couple consecutively in a shooting drill with the Birmingham Squadron, the New Orleans Pelicans' G League affiliate, and this was simply unacceptable.

"It's hilarious," Squadron coach T.J. Saint said. "But he's really intense. It's serious. He's serious about it."

Saint, an assistant coach on last year's staff, recalled Alvarado peppering him and former coach Ryan Pannone with questions during timeouts and coaching up his teammates in huddles. On the court during warmups on the second night of a back-to-back, Alvarado approached Saint, calling himself out for a shaky performance in the previous game.