Plumlee watch

[JCSunsfan]

Might want to track this young man's progress.

1. Not a lot of minutes at Duke. Mediocre numbers.
2. Drafted in the first round by Indiana, but many thought he should be a second rounder. Drafted on size and athleticism.
3. Spent a year riding the pine in Indiana, but according to him, practicing hard and watching Hibbert closely and learning.
4. Breaks out in the summer league showing athleticism, some improved offensive moves and consistency. But there were alot of reservations based upon the caliber of competition in summer leagues.
5. Showed good production in the Suns preseason and he must have been good in practices.
6. Suns trade away Gortat and declare Plumlee as the starter even though they drafted a center with an early first round pick.
7. Excellent production through the first two games of the season showing an all-around game unseen in any center in the Suns history. I do not think the Suns have seen the combination of defense, rebounding, and low post offense in any particular player.

Its just two games. So I would like to track him as he goes. Certainly he is catching some teams by surprise. He seems to fade in the second half of games. That may be because of his high level of activity. He might be just running out of gas.

Flash in the pan or incredible find? The jury is still out but there are some good signs--size, athleticism, motor, and willingness to learn. That's alot going for this young man.

 

[ProdigalSun]

McDonough's made some real nice moves so far. This may end up going down as the best so far

 

[Suns_fan69]

There's always a place for a big man who can defend and rebound. So far he reminds me of a young Chris Anderson.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I think he can play pf, which opens all kinds of options with our present roster and the draft.

 

[Suns_fan69]

To play pf, especially if we're considering Len at the 5, we'll need to see more from 10-15 ft like that bank shot in pulled out last night.

He's probably capable, but I'm not sure that's the best fit. He's doing a ton of great work down low on defense and even on offense, tipping rebounds back and generally mixing it up. I fear we'd lose some of that if he's guarding 4s on a more regular basis.

 

[AzStevenCal]

To play pf, especially if we're considering Len at the 5, we'll need to see more from 10-15 ft like that bank shot in pulled out last night.

He's probably capable, but I'm not sure that's the best fit. He's doing a ton of great work down low on defense and even on offense, tipping rebounds back and generally mixing it up. I fear we'd lose some of that if he's guarding 4s on a more regular basis.

That Tim Duncan bank shot looked pretty natural to me. I didn't get the "oh no, oh no, oh yes" feeling I'd get any time Gortat put one up from more than a few inches away. There was no hesitation for Miles and the shot looked good from the moment it left his hands. I agree he needs to show that he can do that and more with consistency but it doesn't look out of the realm of possibility to me.

Steve

 

[Michael]

My impressions after two games:

+ Runs the court very well
+ Quick feet for a big man --> perimeter defence of other big men looked solid
+ Surprising footwork and large array of moves on offence --> looked comfortable with running hooks, left handed bank-shot, mid-range baseline jumpers and can create his shot from post-up situations
+ active rebounder
+ tends to go up to dunk the ball instead of soft layups
+ disciplined at blocking attempts --> goes up straight, doesn't fall for pump fakes (and if he did, he seemed really annoyed at himself)
- often saw him out of position for defensive rebounds (mostly positioned directly under the rim, so gave up multiple offensive boards)

 

[Michael]

Oh, I read a suggestion for his nickname, which I liked:

"The Plumber" - he cleans it up (boards) and flushes it down (dunks)!

 

[elindholm]

My impressions after two games:

+ Surprising footwork and large array of moves on offence --> looked comfortable with running hooks, left handed bank-shot, mid-range baseline jumpers and can create his shot from post-up situations

This was the most noteworthy thing to me. When he makes a low-post move and it works, it looks like that's what he expected to happen, not that it was an accident and he got lucky. He's really pretty decently in control near the basket.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

This was the most noteworthy thing to me. When he makes a low-post move and it works, it looks like that's what he expected to happen, not that it was an accident and he got lucky. He's really pretty decently in control near the basket.

I honestly don't think he has even once looked off balance or awkward on offense this year and thus that tells me that everything he is doing thus far is within himself. Point being is that he should be able to keep this up IMO and may very well average something like 13-15 points and 10-12 rebounds. The real question is whether or not he can hold up over 82 games.

 

[sunsfan88]

His offensive game is very underrated. He has a sweet hook shot and has good instincts around the basket. When went down low to him in the Blazers game, he made some Hakeem-like moves. Even Al McCoy said it.

I think we should post him up more often and tell him to go to work.

 

[JCSunsfan]

It will be interesting to see what he can do once defenses start keying on him. If he can use that to his advantage by passing out it will be huge. If he doesn't, then his teammates will lose confidence in him and stop passing the ball into the middle.

 

[Michael]

It will be interesting to see what he can do once defenses start keying on him. If he can use that to his advantage by passing out it will be huge. If he doesn't, then his teammates will lose confidence in him and stop passing the ball into the middle.

If his laser-pass against the Jazz is any indication for his court awareness, I'm optimistic.

…can't believe we're talking double teams on Miles Plumlee

 

[JCSunsfan]

This whole thing is a little surreal. Its been years since we have had this kind of surprise player.

 

[Gaddabout]

…can't believe we're talking double teams on Miles Plumlee

I had to quote this, because it sounds like something another posted would have suggested a month ago. And we all would have had a laugh about it.

Imagine if the Suns had drafted him instead of Marshall. He would've received the Dan Majerle "rue the boo!"

 

[Gaddabout]

There's always a place for a big man who can defend and rebound. So far he reminds me of a young Chris Anderson.

... but he can do long division and tie his own shoelaces. And other neato stuff that Chris Anderson probably can't.

 

[devilalum]

That Tim Duncan bank shot looked pretty natural to me. I didn't get the "oh no, oh no, oh yes" feeling I'd get any time Gortat put one up from more than a few inches away. There was no hesitation for Miles and the shot looked good from the moment it left his hands. I agree he needs to show that he can do that and more with consistency but it doesn't look out of the realm of possibility to me.

Steve

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Fifteen yard penalty for mentioning Tim Duncan in a Miles Plumlee thread.

 

[AzStevenCal]

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Fifteen yard penalty for mentioning Tim Duncan in a Miles Plumlee thread.

Sounds reasonable to me.

Steve

 

[BC867]

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Fifteen yard penalty for mentioning Tim Duncan in a Miles Plumlee thread.

How about Miles has a good bank shot?

Oooh, back in the day I used to love seeing Dr. J and Mo Lucas hit the bank shot from the side. Ka-ching!

Uh oh, here comes another penalty!

 

[JCSunsfan]

Well. Back down toward reality.

 

[TucsonDevil]

Well. Back down toward reality.

He's a near 12 and 10 guy right now. That is WAAAY beyond my previous expectations of him.

 

[sunsfan88]

Outplayed by Robin Lopez..ugh. Now he plays against Robin's brother on Friday.....

 

[Sunburn]

Outplayed by Robin Lopez..ugh. Now he plays against Robin's brother on Friday.....

In Plumlee's defense, he did have a double double on better than 50% shooting. Do you honestly expect more?

 

[sunsfan88]

In Plumlee's defense, he did have a double double on better than 50% shooting. Do you honestly expect more?

I didn't expect him to give up 14 pts and 16 rebounds to Robin Lopez.

 

[Folster]

I didn't expect him to give up 14 pts and 16 rebounds to Robin Lopez.

That line from Robin surprised me. I thought he looked awful with his patented point blank bricks and a his one-handed tap back misses. The stat keepers must have counted every one-handed tap he had as a rebound. Every time he touched the ball, it made me thankful that we no longer had him.