Mason Plumlee was never too prideful to do the dirty work.
If the Nuggets needed their backup center to give them only 12 minutes of high-energy basketball a game, Plumlee stepped in without complaint. If they needed him to sub in and out at the end of games for defensive purposes, Plumlee did so with a pep in his step. He made one of the plays of the season against the Oklahoma City Thunder in April, denying Jerami Grant at the rim in the final seconds of overtime.
Plumlee made an impact with his effort. He was at the very least a neutral defender who altered shots when he was in. He set good screens, rolled hard to the rim and was a capable finisher when he could go up without having to make too many moves. He was a useful, unspectacular player. The concern for the Nuggets moving forward is that’s all he’ll ever be heading into seasons where they owe him $12.9 million and $14 million.
The Nuggets signed Plumlee to a three-year, $41 million in September. In his first full season as a Nugget, Plumlee averaged 7.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game as the third big behind Nikola Jokic and Paul Millsap. At a time when most of the league got smaller and quicker, Denver stayed the same because it decided to pay big bucks to a backup center.
Offensively, Plumlee lived at the rim. More than three quarters of his field goal attempts came from four feet and in, and he finished those shots at a healthy 69 percent rate, per Cleaning the Glass. Plumlee was the best player on Denver’s roster not named Kenneth Faried at throwing down lob passes. Plumlee and Devin Harris showed some nice chemistry with one another toward the end of the season.
Plumlee also found success by going up at funky angles. In January, BSN Denver chronicled his affinity for reverse finishes in depth.
“Sometimes he doesn’t see the basket, and he still makes that shot,” Jokic said. “That’s pretty impressive.”
The results were less impressive when Plumlee tried to back his man down. Plumlee averaged 0.82 points per possession on post ups, which put him in the 37th percentile of NBA players. He also struggled at the free throw line, where he shot 45.6 percent. That was by far the lowest mark from the charity stripe of his career.
One thing the Nuggets can take solace in heading into next year: Plumlee and Jokic performed well when they shared the floor. That two-man pairing outscored opponents by 4.3 points per 100 possessions in almost 500 minutes together. There were times — like in January — when the Nuggets’ offense bogged down when it went to the “Poker” lineup, but overall they fared well.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone was quick to defend Plumlee for most of the season. After a narrow win over the Dallas Mavericks on Jan. 27, he called out the media for being critical of Plumlee.
“I’ve got to give a shoutout to Mason Plumlee,” Malone said. “I don’t know why people love to on all these freaking blogs and posts kill Mason Plumlee. And they kill Mason and Nikola together. Mason Plumlee’s a player, man. Mason Plumlee’s defense tonight, guarding everybody, blocking shots. We don’t win that game without Mason Plumlee.”
