Suns looking vulnerable with Chris Paul rattled by Pelicans rookies

By Melissa Rohlin
FOX Sports NBA Writer

There's a role Chris Paul typically plays. 

He's usually the gnat buzzing around players' ears. The irritant getting under guys' skin. The ultimate annoyer. 

But on Sunday, the script was flipped on him by two rookies. 

In the New Orleans Pelicans' 118-103 win over the Phoenix Suns in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series, a 23-year-old named Herbert Jones and a 24-year-old named Jose Alvarado helped unravel the Point God, holding him to four points, three turnovers and 11 assists in 35 minutes. 

The Suns now have their backs against the wall. They're the reigning Western Conference champions and finished with the best record in the league this season (64-18). But without Devin Booker, who is sidelined indefinitely because of a hamstring injury, this Suns team that was favored to reach the Finals heading into the playoffs is now extremely vulnerable, tied 2-2 with a scrappy Pelicans team that snuck its way into the postseason by winning two play-in games.

First, let's take a look at the two unlikely heroes of Sunday's game. 

Let's start with Alvarado, a guy who went undrafted in 2021 and whom most fans had likely never heard of until a few months ago — or maybe not until Sunday. He chirped at Paul. He stuck to him like glue. He celebrated in his face. He embodied Paul and then helped render him useless. 

There was the time Alvarado forced Paul to pick up an eight-second violation with 8:32 left and then pounded his fist against his chest.

Or the time he hid in the corner, snuck up behind Paul as he tried to dribble downcourt and ripped the ball out of his hands with 2:37 remaining. Alvarado hopped into the air with joy after Jones exploited his robbery by converting a reverse layup. 

"I ain't running away from no smoke," said Alvarado, who had five points, two steals and two rebounds but whose impact was so much more than his stat line. "It's all about basketball. Nothing personal."

Well, it was a bit personal. 

Alvarado tried that same exact sneaky move against Paul in Game 2 but was spotted, and Paul waved him off flippantly. Even Alvarado's teammates doubted whether he'd be able to pull off his signature move on Paul, widely considered one of the top five point guards of all time. 

"I said, ‘There’s no way in hell you're going to get this against CP,'" CJ McCollum acknowledged, laughing. "He did, and he looked at me. I said, 'You got him. Congrats, man.'"

Alvarado's story is heartwarming, really — for anyone who isn't a Suns fan. For much of the season, Alvarado was a benchwarmer on a G League contract. But his defense earned him a spot on one of the greatest stages in sports after the Pelicans signed him to a four-year, $6.5 million deal on March 28.

He has quickly become a fan favorite. Alvarado inspired a New Orleans crowd accustomed to pageantry in the streets to break out into a full celebration in their arena, chanting "Jose, Jose, Jose" as if they were at a soccer stadium in Europe. 

"This city's got my back," Alvarado said. "And I got their back 100 percent."

Then there's Jones, whom the Pelicans selected with the 35th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. On Sunday, he was aggressive. He was physical. He played as though he belonged and as though this isn't his first postseason.

With 6:23 left, Jones stole an inbounds pass by Jae Crowder and converted a layup as the Pelicans went on a 12-0 run to blow the game open. A minute later, he blocked a 3-point attempt by Cameron Payne. He was everywhere — and particularly relentless with Paul. 

Jones smothered Paul throughout the game, frustrating him to the point that Paul swiped down at him midway through the fourth quarter as Jones attempted a layup, making contact with his head and body. Paul was assessed a Flagrant Foul 1 on the play.

Jones finished with 13 points, three blocks and two steals, impressing his teammates with his indefatigable tenacity.

"I've never seen a guy this young, this sharp, this smart, this unbothered, this unfazed," McCollum said. "He's getting the toughest assignments every night. … He'll be First-Team All-Defense as soon as they start watching Pelicans games."

The Pelicans did what they needed to do Sunday. After Paul scored 19 points in the fourth quarters of Games 1 and 3, the Pelicans held him scoreless in the final period of Game 4. Paul entered Sunday with 28 assists and zero turnovers in his previous two performances, but the two 20-somethings broke the spell, rendering him irrelevant. 

It's great news for the Pelicans, who clearly believe in themselves now. After starting the season 1-12 without superstar Zion Williamson, first-year coach Willie Green refused to let his players believe their record. 

After some midseason moves, including acquiring McCollum in February, the Pelicans have transformed into a dangerous team. Everyone is peaking at the right time, including Brandon Ingram, who has finished with at least 30 points in the team's past three games, making him the first player to do that in franchise playoff history.

And it's scary news for the Suns, who coasted through the season as the undisputed top team in the league. This was supposed to be their revenge year after they lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2021 Finals. This was supposed to be the season Paul finally won his first championship. 

Now there's a chance the Suns could be eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

But this much is for sure: Paul isn't going to have a four-point, three-turnover performance when the teams play again Tuesday.

Next time, he'll be ready for everything, including the two hungry rookies who frazzled him in Game 4. 

"I'll be better Game 5," Paul said. "Gotta be."

Unless the Suns want to be the biggest disappointment of the playoffs, truer words have never been spoken.

Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter at @melissarohlin.