On April 25, Beijing time, the NBA playoffs continued, the Suns lost to the Pelicans 103-118, and Paul, who was also very powerful in the last game, scored only 4 points in 8 shots and 2 of 8, and even had 8 seconds in the game. The reason why Paul played seriously was directly related to one of the Pelicans' missing drafts, which was Joseph Alvarado.
Alvarado is only 1.83 meters tall, and he regrettably lost the election at the 2021 NBA Draft, and finally signed only a two-way contract with the Pelicans. In order to gain a foothold in the league, the lost draft must have a skill, and Alvarado is best at sneak attacks, so much so that NBA fans gave him a nickname - "Old Six".
The term comes from the game CSGO to describe players who don't squat in their regular positions, but always look for opportunities to sneak in. And Alvarado has only played one season, and various videos of sneak attacks and steals behind them have been made into highlights by netizens. Even the experienced Paul actually planted a heel on him.
In this game, Alvarado used active scrambling to haunt Paul, exhausting the "point guard god", and even made a low-level mistake such as 8 seconds but halftime.
At the end of the fourth quarter, Alvarado also launched his fame stunt, killing from behind and sneaking up on Paul. The Pelicans then attacked quickly, killing the suspense of the game completely.
It can be said that throughout the game, Paul was so exhausted by Alvarado that in the end, his mentality collapsed, and there was a malicious foul on Jones, who was also a good player in the second round. After being fouled, he ignored Paul's outstretched hand and only let his teammates pull him up.
In the NBA, rookies are often taught by veterans, but the two newcomers of the Pelicans can actually make Paul, who often breaks the mentality of others, this time his own mentality is broken, which is really "living for a long time". Although Paul will definitely bounce back and adjust when he returns home, the Suns without Booker may still be in a bitter battle.