New Orleans needs consecutive wins Thursday and Saturday in order to finish a lengthy Western Conference road trip at .500, but from a long-term standpoint, it’s possible one of the biggest victories from the excursion will be the progress second-year guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker has shown. During the best four-game stretch of his young career, the Virginia Tech product has logged at least 20 minutes every night, while starting three times, highlighted by a career-best 37-point outburst Jan. 13 at the Clippers.
“When you feel like you can play and be aggressive, it just helps so much,” Alexander-Walker said after shootaround Thursday, in an interview for “Pelicans Weekly” with radio broadcaster Todd Graffagnini.