NEW ORLEANS — Jose Alvarado stood alone at his locker after the New Orleans’ Play-In Tournament loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday. He slowly threw on a green jersey with the No. 13 and “Ingram” on the back in white letters.
It was a replica of a jersey Brandon Ingram, Alvarado’s close friend and teammate, once wore during his Kinston High School days in North Carolina. Ingram even left an autograph on the back.
After most games, Alvarado and Ingram are inseparable. They’ll joke around until most of their teammates have already left.
But on this night, Ingram was long gone before Alvarado got dressed. Ingram was one of the first Pelicans players to leave the building, and his abrupt departure was an unusual sign of frustration for a player who usually bottles up his emotions on tough nights. He couldn’t even hide it on the bench as he sat for the final 7:38 of the fourth quarter of the gut-wrenching loss.
BI looks frustrated on the bench pic.twitter.com/nOCpNTPSOG
— Pro Pels Talk (@ProPelsTalk) April 17, 2024
Ingram is competitive, so it was tough for him to handle his coach’s decision to leave him on the bench in his team’s biggest game of the season. He continued to sit even after Zion Williamson left with 3:13 remaining in the fourth quarter with a hamstring injury.
The combination of the benching, Zion’s injury and back-to-back losses to the Lakers made Tuesday one the toughest nights in Ingram’s career. His response will determine if the Pelicans have any chance of picking up the pieces and securing a playoff spot.
“We’re human. People gotta know that. We’re not just basketball players,” Alvarado told The Athletic after Tuesday’s loss. “(Ingram) knows we need him as bad as we do. I’m gonna express that to him, and I think everybody else will, too.”
New Orleans now faces the Sacramento Kings Friday night without Williamson in a game with do-or-die stakes. The winner will play Oklahoma City in the first round of the playoffs. The loser’s season is over. 308
Zion’s absence brings Ingram back to a familiar place. Without Williamson, who had missed 194 games in his first four NBA seasons, the Pelicans again must rely on Ingram to be their driving force to prevent a collapse. He’s certainly proven he can excel as the No. 1 option, most notably in this exact situation two years ago when he led the Zion-less Pelicans to two Play-In victories and a competitive six-game loss to the 64-win Phoenix Suns.
But this responsibility couldn’t have fallen in his lap at a worse time. After missing 12 games with a bone bruise in his left knee, Ingram’s minutes and impact have been cut short in his first two games back, both losses against the Lakers. In Tuesday’s defeat, Ingram was 4-for-12 from the field, and he turned the ball over three times in 25 minutes. While there were flashes of his normal self on certain plays, Ingram clearly needed more time to find his flow within the offense.
The game’s energy shifted after Pelicans coach Willie Green sat Ingram and the struggling CJ McCollum with 7:38 left in the fourth quarter. Zion caught fire, and New Orleans immediately went on a 15-4 run to tie the game. Instead of subbing his stars back in, Green left the unit that was working on the floor. It was a bold decision, but many coaches would’ve made the same one in his position. Without Williamson’s injury, Green may have been proven right.
Regardless, Green must now turn back to Ingram and hope his star forward can move past those frustrations and return to playing his best. Ingram’s versatility as a scorer and a facilitator will be crucial for New Orleans to create advantages in half-court situations. If he can’t find his rhythm, it’ll be tough to keep up with a Kings squad desperate to avoid losing to the Pels for the sixth time this season.
“We’ve faced adversity before. Here it is again staring us right in the eyes,” Green said Thursday. “This is an opportunity we can take advantage of. … I have a ton of confidence in this group. We’ve been in this scenario before.
“We beat Sacramento five times, but this is going to be different. This is going to be the hardest.”
Green said he had a private discussion with Ingram to express their feelings about the Lakers loss and how they can move forward. One of Green’s crowning achievements since his arrival in New Orleans is the connection he’s established with Ingram on and off the floor. With Williamson so often injured, the relationship between Green and Ingram has been at the core of what this team has built over the last three seasons.
That foundation is about to be tested more than ever. Ingram must show that he can trust himself and avoid his urge to overcompensate with Zion’s absence. Green must find the right ways to push Ingram and recognize moments when he may need assistance.
Ingram, who does not typically speak to reporters after practice, came in early before Thursday’s session to put in extra work and prepare himself mentally for what’s ahead. According to those in attendance, he played with a focus and a force that ignited everyone on the court once team activities started.
“He looked great,” Green said. “He was playing with force. He was sharp.”
Even though Ingram’s numbers were slightly down this season, his teammates have seen him elevate his game in big moments. They know he’s capable of being the best player on the floor on any given night.
After seeing how he looked at Thursday’s practice, Ingram’s teammates spoke about him with supreme confidence.
“He’s going to be awesome. We’ve seen it time and time again: BI steps up in big games,” Larry Nance Jr. said. “He’s a superstar, and he’s going to show up (Friday).”
Ingram’s play against Sacramento this season justifies that belief. In his four games against the Kings (he missed the fifth one due to injury), Ingram averaged 24.8 points, five rebounds and five assists. The Pelicans beat the Kings by more than 30 points in two of those four games.
In one of those 30-point wins, Ingram was held to 15 points, but he racked up eight assists, picking apart the Kings’ defense as they sent multiple bodies his way in pick-and-roll situations.
These are the plays that can ignite many of the role players who struggled against the Lakers on Tuesday. But can Ingram regain that rhythm and timing again before Friday night?
“If we win that game, it’s going to be because of him,” Alvarado said. “We believe that. I think he believes that. He’s going to do all the right things for us.”
If Ingram cannot and the Pelicans fall on Friday, it’ll be a devastating ending to a season that provided so much promise for this group. While Zion’s injury obviously is a significant factor, becoming the second 49-win team in NBA history to miss the playoffs is an unavoidable distinction. This season will be viewed by many as a major disappointment.
But Ingram has a chance to step in once again and save the Pelicans after a Zion injury. While it may not erase the sting of their last two losses to the Lakers, it will at least allow the Pelicans a little more time to appreciate what they’ve done to reach this point.
“We’ve got a choice: We can look at this as an obstacle or an opportunity,” Green said. “We’re all here because we had to go through adversity. … It tests your character. It tests your faith. But we’re all here because we looked at it as an opportunity, and we took advantage of it.”
(Top photo: Jonathan Bachman / Getty Images)
