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New Orleans Pelicans rookie Nickeil Alexander-Walker said Monday that he spent a portion his time in quarantine studying four-time NBA champion Manu Ginobili.
Alexander-Walker suffered a right wrist injury prior to the season shutdown and took it upon himself to learn from Ginobili, a crafty left-hander. Alexander-Walker said he messaged a Pelicans staff member to arrange a film package to study over his time away from basketball.
Fortunately, I actually got a lot of time to re-evaluate and understand where I am at right now at the time of the hiatus and just focus on where I need to improve on where I lack in the season and how can I improve with what I have now. I was able to get into the gym, still work out, still try to get lifts in and stay in shape. I watched a lot of film. I messaged one of the film guys about Manu Ginobili, specifically, because I had to use my left a lot; his craftiness, his speed, his change-of-pace, he was a great player, in my opinion. Just tried to pick up as much as I could from him.
Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry said Monday Alexander-Walker is fully healthy and has had no restrictions in practice ahead of the season restart. In fact, Gentry mentioned that the rookie has impressed him since arriving at the Walt Disney World Resort.
He has had some really good practices here. I think his confidence is beginning to increase. Obviously, for him, confidence is everything. I also talked with him along the lines of everybody player wants it right now and sometimes it’s a process to get there. I think he understands that more than he did. Every rookie coming in wants to be in the rotation and be able to play. He has had some opportunities on the court but I think he is in a good place right now and I think he will continue to get better.
Alexander-Walker played sparingly at times this season with the Pelicans and even spent some time in the G League with the Erie BayHawks. He went to the G League completely ready to play and fully bought into the plan of getting some work in with the BayHawks.
While he worked on using his left hand over the summer, he also arrived back to the Pelicans team facility having grown nearly a full inch since the season shut down in March. He said he didn’t realize he grew that much but joked that he was fully on board with it.
With teams facing uncertainty regarding potential injuries and sickness to players, having Alexander-Walker ready to play could be beneficial for the Pelicans once the season resumes on July 30.
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