Blazers Player Profile: Phil Pressey

In the new age of Portland basketball, it may be guard heavy at first. With All-Star point guard Damian Lillard being the only obvious option on the team that can create his own shot every possession, it won’t be pretty. Thankfully, the Trail Blazers lineup is fruitful with the amount of guard it posses. One guard in particular, who might not play all that much but will make an impact when he does, is Phil Pressey.

Phil Pressey pushes the ball up the court for the Blazers  /Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Pressey is not the tallest of guys but he makes up for it in his will to play the game. He is a type of player that is willing to sacrifice his own offensive numbers to make his teammates look better and give the team the result they want: a win. Like I said before, though, he won’t play a lot this season unless there is drastic change coming to the Blazers lineup.

Pressey did not play in the Blazers second preseason game against the Warriors (yes we beat the defending champions!) due to a coach’s decision, while Tim Frazier, the man in front of him on the depth chart, played 20 minutes.

Pressey played 19 minutes in Portland’s first preseason game and while it was not bad I wouldn’t say it was noteworthy either. In the 19 minutes, Pressey scored four points to go along with two rebounds and two assists. Maybe the best part of the night was that he only had one turnover.

Pressey’s best skill is by far his passing ability. Pressey is a pass first guard, mainly by default, because of his size. Pressey cannot get up shots or attack the rim because of the possibility of him getting blocked or lack of offensive opportunity. This is a great asset to the Trail Blazers offense, as they do not have many bigs who can score on their own and have to rely on ball dominant guards like Pressey.

Pressey can also heat up from the three-point line if he sees the ball go through the basket more than once. Unfortunately, he cannot really create his own shot and relies on spot up shots. Besides that, despite liking to spot up, he just isn’t a good three-point shooter. His three point shooting averages are way under the norm at .257% so it may not be smart to rely on the inconsistent jumper.

In this first clip, one of the first possessions of the game, Pressey is guarded by All-Star point guard John Wall. Nothing is really happening on the ball besides Pressey dribbling in one spot. The action is occurring on the weak side where there are three players either setting or using a screen. Pressey decides to dribble towards this mess then decides to crossover dribble towards the free throw line. He sees that Nenê is in help but there is no one to pass it to so he decides to fling the ball towards the rim. The ball going through the basket is more luck than skill this time.

In the next video Pressey shows off his ability to hit the three point shot. In the first possession Pressey passes it to Kris Humphries who then tries to do a move that ultimately fails. Seeing that he has nothing else to do, he looks to pass and finds Pressey at the top of the key. Pressey saw Humphries struggling to score and wisely slid into a space that the defender was not, opening a window for a kick out. Humphries hits Pressey and the shot goes through the hoop over Wall’s outstretched arms.

In the last possession Pressey boasts his transition shooting. Maybe the simplest analyzation of the three, Pressey brings the ball up the court in a flurry to find Chris Johnson in the corner. Johnson suddenly is covered by a hustling Bradley Beal and is forced to pass the ball back to Pressey. Wall is late running back on defense and concedes yet another Pressey three.

As shown in the film, Pressey can get hot and hit some shots, but do not expect this often. He needs to play fast and get the ball out of his hands while ion the fast break, then his shots will come to him. Once he and his team get into a rhythm of a transition offense, he will get into a flow and start knocking down his shots.

Transitioning into the depth chart, for Pressey to play he has to beat out Frazier as the backup point guard behind Lillard. How can he do this? It wont be by scoring the ball on every possession. Pressey has to get the Blazers second unit into their offense every possession and make sure a good shot is taken. He can also make some highlight plays with either no look passes or bounce passes through a guy’s legs. Lets not forget the defensive end either.

Pressey does not match up well against most guys due to his lack of height at 5’11”. His size is a problem too as he is only 175 pounds. Guards in the NBA are just getting bigger and stronger and playing Pressey on defense is a liability. This is the fundamental reason why he may not play because of countless elite guards in the Western Conference. Frazier is two inches taller than Pressey but weighs 5 pounds less. This may be one of the biggest position battles to watch throughout the season, along with Noah Vonleh and Meyers Leonard and Maurice Harkless and Al-Farouq Aminu.

Pressey Must Play Defense to get on the Court Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Phil Pressey is an average player in this league. He is just a small guy who passionately loves to play basketball and is trying to make a career out of it. He made good of his time on the Celtics and had some good games with assists and points. If Portland struggles more than expected this season, Pressey may get more opportunity than usual and turn some heads. Anyway, heed high expectations from Pressey and you may be satisfied with the results he will provide.