What can Phil Pressey and Tim Frazier bring to the Blazers?

After losing some franchise cornerstones and several important role players this summer, the Portland Trail Blazers figure to play a much different brand of basketball next season.

They lost much of their guard depth in guys like Wesley Matthews, Arron Afflalo, and Steve Blake. This left the team with a gaping hole at the back up point guard position as well as the depth off the bench.

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However, Portland is expected to bring back Tim Frazier, who was signed by the team last March after being waived by Philadelphia. They plan on pairing him with Phil Pressey, who was acquired as a free agent from Boston on July 24, as their back up point guards duo. Though Frazier and Pressey are largely unproven, they have shown potential in their short NBA careers thus far.

Frazier has only appeared in 11 games in his career, six with the 76ers and five with the Trail Blazers last season. He has career averages of 5.2 points per game and 5.5 assists, which are solid totals given his limited time spent on the court.

Pressey, on the other hand, has much more experience with 125 games under his belt already. He has been a key role player on the Celtics for the past two years, and he even started in 11 games in his rookie year for the team. His career averages are 3.5 points per game and 2.3 assists.

Despite discrepancies in experience, the two guards are similar in many respects.

Frazier is best known for his speed and quickness, as well as his ability to pass the ball. He is a great ball handler and is able to create space to find the open teammate and make plays. If he wants more minutes and game appearances, though, he’ll need to improve his jump shot more and more. Frazier’s career field goal percentage is just under 35 percent.

Pressey is similarly skilled. He is quite fast and looks very confident with the ball in his hands. The strongest part of his game is creating for his teammates and making big time passes to set up shots. Though probably a better shooter than Frazier, Pressey also needs to work on his shot and improve from distance. His career shooting percentage is also just below 35 percent.

Mar 11, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics guard Phil Pressey (26) controls the ball during the first half against the Memphis Grizzlies at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Even though Frazier and Pressey are not guaranteed to remain on the roster when the regular season opens up, chances are they will both make the cut. The team needs guard depth, especially at point guard, and they have not outwardly shown much of a motive to go out and get anybody else as of now.

Pressey has shown what he can do in an expanded role, especially last year when Rajon Rondo went down with injury. The team turned to Avery Bradley and Pressey to fill the hole, before ultimately going out and getting Isaiah Thomas as a more permanent replacement. Pressey’s experience may give him a leg up as Terry Stotts determines which guard will be Lillard’s primary backup, though Frazier benefits from familiarity with Stotts’ system.

If both players make the roster, it will be a toss up regarding who contributes and plays more minutes. Whichever player improves their shot and offensive game first will most likely earn the most minutes for Portland. I think Pressey and Frazier both have what it takes to make the next step forward and become valuable assets off the bench for the Trail Blazers.

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What can Phil Pressey and Tim Frazier bring to the Blazers next season?

By Michael Keenan | Aug 23, 2015

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