Last season could not have gone more wrong for the Phoenix Suns. Once again, their stars in Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal alternated between injuries. The Suns were never able to gain their footing, and that showed in their playoff defeat at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
hat is unacceptable for a team that is all-in to win a championship. So, the Suns made a series of moves to make their roster better. The best of those moves the Suns have made during 2024 NBA free agency was to sign Mason Plumlee on a minimum contract.
Suns add defensive versatility
One of the many flaws the Suns had last season was their inability to defend. Phoenix's defensive rating of 113.7 ranked 13th in the league. Perhaps the biggest reason why was due to their over reliance on big man Jusuf Nurkic. Nurkic is a fine play-making hub on offense, but his defense ability has fallen by the wayside over the last few seasons.
Nurkic does do a fine job banging with bigs in the post, but he just can't move laterally to defend in space. He also isn't a candidate to contest shots at the rim vertically either, so it makes life difficult when he is anchoring a defense. The Suns, as a result, had to shift to lineups with Kevin Durant at center to compensate for his shortcomings on that end of the floor.
That should not be as much of a problem with Mason Plumlee in tow. Plumlee is more nimble than Nurkic, which could allow Phoenix to play some more aggressive styles of defense knowing that they have Durant or Plumlee behind at the rim to help clean things up.
New head coach Mike Budenholzer tends to play a more conservative type of defense, but Plumlee can at least give them a few different looks. If the head coach wants to lean into that again in Phoenix, Plumlee can do that too.
Mason Plumelee provides lob threat on offense
Plumlee isn't the offensive threat that Nurkic is, but he presents a different look that can help Phoenix on that end of the floor. The best way the former Duke Blue Devil can do that is by his ability to finish at the rim and rolls and lobs. He may not be the high-flyer he was previously at 34-years-old, but he is still effective around the basket.
Plumlee shot 64.2% from the field on shots within five feet of the basket last year during the regular season. He was around the same company as bigs like Alperen Sengun and Bobby Portis. Meanwhile, Nurkic was at around 58.5% shooting on those same types of shots. The bigs near his vicinity included players like Andre Drummond and Mitchell Robinson.
Nurkic's lack of vertical pop made finishing around the rim difficult on the Suns' three stars. Without the threat of a three-ball to stretch opposing centers out, Nurkic, who shot 24.4% from three last season, was often camped out in the dunker spot. If he was there then that means the other team's center was there too to protect the rim.
Phoenix couldn't throw lobs in Nurkic's direction either because elevation just isn't a big part of his game. He, along with the Suns' stars' tendencies to shoot mid-range jumpers was a big reason why Phoenix took the second-fewest shots at the rim last season.
Mason Plumlee should help with that. He is a more viable lob threat and vertical finisher who should fit better alongside their three stars. Phoenix under immense pressure to win a title sooner than later with all they have invested in this team. Plumlee can help them get across the finish line. Signing him in free agency was a great move by the Suns.
Follow Us
Subscribe