Ma...Son...Plum...Lee... Clap! Clap! ClapClapClap!

Game 1: 5 Rebounds
Game 2: 10 Rebounds
Game 3: 21 Rebounds

Game 4: 40+ Rebounds!!!!!

 

Just like last year's playoffs we hit on the gold that was CJ, this game opened my eyes to the possibility that we could run much of our half court offense through Plumlee next year. Get the ball to him in the high post and let him decide which of CJ or Dame is the better option, or hit the cutting big.

Plumlee is only 25 and has already shown decent growth. He's gone from a 1200 mpg player to 2000 mpg, improved his free throw shooting to a reasonable 64%, and gone from .9 assists/game to 2.8 (in 25mpg). Maybe with a bigger role in the offense next year he can take that same leap CJ took this year.

What's really killing us is lack of a reliable 3 and D type player at SF. Hark may be that guy eventually, but he has a lot of work to do.

 

Mase looked like a white Dennis Rodman out there tonight!!!

 

Plumlee is our Draymond Green. Our guards get him the ball when they are being trapped and he makes plays. I've been saying this all year. And Plumlee is young. We have our center. He is a bit small though. Jordan looks way bigger than him in person. All the more impressive that Plumlee grabbed 21 rebounds.

 

Is Durant's defense good enough for he to be that guy?

 

Tonight Somewhere in a Dark Duke Research Labratory:

"Igor! 20 rebounds tonight! The experiment worked..... bring me the Petri Dish and Gene Splicing Machine. Now we get started on Point Guards!"

 

I was going to create a post last week, regardless of his play, just focusing on the extreme effort that Mase puts in on a nightly basis.
Rarely have I seen a player that just plays flat-out at all times, to the level that Plumlee does.
He may not be as gifted as some other players, but he sure does outwork most of them -
and for that I respect him massively!

Big round of applause for Plumlee's efforts and the great example they set to our team!

 

The sets that Stotts is using for Plumlee are identical to the Chicago/Thibs sets used for Joakim Noah.

28 mpg | 9 ppg | 12 rpg | 5.3 apg | 22.3 PER

He's been our best player in this series.

 

Though Sly was correct about his wingspan being 6'11, when discussing Plumlee's size his smallish wingspan is the relevant point. This is so obvious you have to try to miss it. Compound that stupidity by listing his height with shoes on when an actual height is available...

Mason has some positive skills, but if he's the starting 4 or 5 then you need extra rim protection and shooting from the rest of the front court :captain obvious:

STOMP

 

Mason and Harkless were the only two outside CJ and Dame that played well. With the exception of perhaps Ed Davis, Davis is doing his job, but he's got a big size mismatch inside.

Aminu was a hero for Dallas in last year's playoffs, but a zero for us. His per was 20.4 for them and only 9.9 for us. Dude is averaging 1-7 for 3. so far, only 41% on 2s.

Allen Crappe continues to shoot down his own value. He's freaking 2-12 for the entire playoffs, 0-5 from 3, and they've been nice looks.

Someone else needs to hit some god damn shots for Portland. Can they at least shoot their season average?

 

He does look a bit smaller than many centers we face though.

His standing reach is only 9'0 though, and his wingspan is 6'11. He's built more like Ed Davis, who has the same standing reach and a 1 inch bigger wingspan. He is average size for a center though.

 

Mason's passing and ball handling skills are elite for a center, he just really needs to learn how to stick a jump shot because people are just going to sag off of him. If he had a jumper he could play 3 4 or 5, he's that athletic and good with the ball.

 

I was trying to work out the best comparison for Plumlee's game, and I think I've got it: Joakim Noah without the defense.

It's just a shame that defense is kind of important for centers.

 

With much less Hep C!

 

Sounds good. But what I noticed in the game was that whereas the other team has to guard Meyers no matter how high out he is on the court, which opens up the court for other players, the other team doesnt have to guard Plumlee anywhere on the court. There were a number of times he was setting high screens, he was open for a shot and nothing opened up because he can't shoot.

Which is more likely: Plumlee learning to make top of the arc threes or Meyers learning to pass? (Hint: Meyers can already pass)

 

Eh, Plums is a much better defender and hustle guy. But more than that it comes down to the intangible of mental strength. There's a cupcake element to Meyers--he's just not a mentally strong person. He gets down on himself, he thinks too much. I can see Stotts telling his guys, "Look, if you dribble into traffic and have got yourself into a mess and you don't know where to go, just toss it to Plumlee. He's a big target and he'll figure it out. He's a solid guy who sees the court. He'll find a cutter or make the right play to get it in Lillard or McCollum's hands. He can run the offense when they double our guards."

Do you see Stotts ever saying that about Meyers? Because when the chips are down and things are going bad, I expect bad things to happen when guys toss it to Meyers and hope he'll bail the team out. He'll question himself, whether he should pass or shoot in that critical moment, and a playoff series ends on his weak will.

Vlade Divac couldn't hit a three to save his life, but those Kings teams did pretty well with him. They had Bibby and Webber to run the offense, just like we've got Lillard/McCollum. But Vlade gave them that something extra that made them the best passing team of the early 2000's. Maybe Plumlee can be that guy for us.