Tim Frazier has impressed for the New Orleans Pelicans
By Nathan Heck
With Tyreke Evans, Eric Gordon, Norris Cole and Bryce Dejean-Jones all missing time, there is a void left in the New Orleans Pelicans’ guard rotation that Tim Frazier is looking to fill.
With the rest of this season meaningless in regards to the playoff picture (the Pelicans are out of it), the New Orleans Pelicans are using this time to find something that will greatly help them in seasons to come: answers. The good thing about a team being decimated by injuries is that they get extended looks at some end of the bench guys, such as Luke Babbitt and Toney Douglas. The coaching staff gets a chance to evaluate them in a real game situation and determine where they fit (or don’t) down the line.
One of the most intriguing players to watch over the last four games, though, has been on the team for just a week. Tim Frazier’s career in New Orleans has started with a bang, to say the least. In his first game, Frazier finished with 14 points and nine assists against the Sacramento Kings, per basketball-reference. He looked fantastic, but the Kings’ defense has a tendency to do that for some fairly ineffective players.
Over the next three games, though, it started to sink in; Tim Frazier is pretty good. He posted 13 points and four assists against the Blazers; 17 points, seven rebounds, four steals and two assists against the Clippers and 11 points and four assists against the Heat. While some of the claims about him have been exaggerated, Tim Frazier may be able to excel as the backup point guard for the Pelicans in the long-term.
Looking at the roster, he may be the best choice even when everyone is healthy. With Eric Gordon as good as gone, one must assume the Pelicans will at least try the Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans pairing in the starting lineup. That leaves Norris Cole and Toney Douglas, both of whom are not guaranteed to be on the team contract next season (Toney Douglas is on an unguaranteed deal and Norris Cole is expiring), as the candidates for the backup point guard position.
Toney Douglas has reenergized his career by shooting a smooth 39.3 percent from deep and making a ton of hustle plays on both ends of the floor, but he is horribly inefficient outside of his long range shooting. Putting just 39.5 percent of all of his attempts in the basket, the Pelicans need someone who is more consistent or willing to defer leading the second unit.
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Norris Cole has been an absolute disaster this season for the New Orleans Pelicans, and that has been well documented. His field goal percentage is just a hair better than Douglas’s at 40.5 percent, but he attempts nearly four more shots per game than the aforementioned guard. That, perhaps, is Norris Cole’s most detrimental trait: his desire to make himself a volume scorer. Instead of looking to orchestrate the offense to get his teammates the best shots, he forces the issue inside and in the mid-range more often than not.
Tim Frazier, on the other hand, does not suffer from these maladies. Shooting a healthy 52.9 percent from the floor right now, Frazier has shown the intelligence and patience to pick his spots and know when it is the right time to pull the proverbial trigger. His long range shooting is not a strength like it is for Douglas, but he at least has the self-awareness, unlike Norris Cole, to refrain from attempting a high volume of looks from deep.
In regards to setting his teammates up, Tim Frazier is clearly a step ahead of his peers. Currently sitting at 30 percent, Tim Frazier’s assist percentage is eight percentage points better than Norris Cole’s and 12 percentage points better than Toney Douglas’s. This conclusion matches results seen with the naked eye by fans. Nearly every time down the floor, it is clear that Frazier is trying to initiate the offense and create for his teammates, whereas both Norris Cole and Toney Douglas look to create a shot for themselves.
Obviously, Tim Frazier is likely to regress to a more predictable norm (much like Bryce Dejean-Jones did earlier in the season) and won’t be posting a 21.2 player efficiency rating for the rest of the campaign, but the positive tendencies are there for him, and the team, to build on. The combination of his willingness to both create for others and score when called upon makes him a valuable piece off the bench for the New Orleans Pelicans. If he finishes the season playing like he has over the past four games, don’t be surprised to see Tim Frazier next season.