The league is beginning to recognize what kind of player the Brooklyn Nets have in Mason Plumlee, and the team is starting to realize it as well. After starting the last seven games at center, Brooklyn finally has a healthy, young core foundation piece for the present and future.
Brooklyn was reportedly not enthused with a recent trade offer from Sacramento for point guard Deron Williams. It turns out, according to ESPN, that the Kings’ main target was Plumlee, not Williams.
The Nets are reportedly unwilling to include Plumlee in a trade, but management should go one step further. Despite Brook Lopez’s return to the court in Tuesday night’s win over Denver after an eight-game absence, there’s no reason that Plumlee shouldn’t remain the team’s starting center. The eye test and, more importantly, the stats reveal that it’s no contest. Forget Brook Lopez, start Mason Plumlee.
Plumlee scored 19 points on 9-of-14 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds to go with three blocks on Tuesday, the 5th time in his last seven games that he’s recorded a double-double. Conversely, Lopez has just two double-doubles this season. Plumlee’s minutes are rising and so is his confidence.
“Getting wins and putting up numbers gives you confidence individually,” Plumlee said. “It’s a great feeling but, at the same time, it’s just something to build on. I’m not where I want to be and it’s a step in the right direction.”
Having Plumlee in the starting lineup is a step in the right direction for a 12-15 Nets team that’s 5-5 with Plumlee as a starter and 7-9 with Lopez starting. Just take a look at Plumlee’s splits:
| Mason Plumlee | Games | Minutes | FG % | Points | Rebounds | Blocks | O Rtg | D Rtg |
| Starter | 10 | 30.5 | 63.6 | 14.9 | 9.1 | 1.7 | 116 | 101 |
| Reserve | 17 | 13.1 | 38.2 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 0.58 | 93 | 102 |
Plumlee shoots more than 25 percentage points better as a starter at 63.6 percent and averages nearly a double-double in just over 30 minutes per game. And despite playing more than 17 more minutes per game as a starter, Plumlee’s defensive efficiency gets marginally better. His offensive rating catapults 23 points when he starts to a very impressive 116. In short, Plumlee’s beastly ferocity manifests itself on the court with increased minutes.
When asked what’s been the difference for Plumlee over the last several games, Joe Johnson chalked it up to opportunity.
“I think his confidence is real high right now and knowing we’ve had to really lean on Mase and, you know, he’s really come through for us,” Johnson told SheridanHoops.
Nets Head Coach Lionel Hollins also focused on Plumlee’s confidence.
“He’s doing some stuff that I haven’t seen Mase do since I’ve been here,” Hollins said.
Denver head coach Brian Shaw also mentioned confidence when talking about Plumlee’s recent ascent.
“His activity, the way he can get up and down the floor [and] his athleticism caused a problem for a lot of teams,” Shaw told SheridanHoops.
Shaw credited Plumlee’s time with the U.S. National team and mentorship from Kevin Garnett as a couple of reasons for his improvement.
“I notice his communication on his defensive side comes directly from K.G.,” Shaw said.
Other teammates have their own opinions. Sergey Karasev said that extra time in practice helped Plumlee.
“He got more minutes and more confidence in himself,” said Bojan Bogdanovic.
The stats prove that Bogdanovic is onto something. The more minutes Plumlee plays, the more productive and efficient he gets.
| Plumlee Minutes | Games | FG % | Points | Rebounds | Blocks | O Rtg | D Rtg |
| 0 to 9 | 6 | 38.5 | 2.2 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 66 | 97 |
| 10 to 19 | 10 | 44.2 | 5.9 | 5.9 | 0.5 | 98 | 104 |
| 20 to 29 | 5 | 38.5 | 9.2 | 7 | 2 | 105 | 105 |
| 30 to 39 | 6 | 69 | 18.8 | 10.8 | 1.5 | 121 | 99 |
In the 16 games Plumlee has logged under 20 minutes this season, he’s been a dreadful offensive player. The field goal percentage and offensive efficiency isn’t quite there yet when he’s played between 20-29 minutes, but something changes when Mason Plumlee gets at least 30 minutes on the floor in a game.
Half a dozen games isn’t an enormous sample size, but Plumlee is averaging a double-double while shooting nearly 70 percent from the field, while Brooklyn is plus-22 per 100 possessions when he plays at least 30 minutes. Given the team’s sub-.500 record, giving Plumlee extended minutes is the smart thing to do.
“Mason’s been great,” Johnson said. “His energy, his effort, taking the challenge and playing the premier fours or fives in this league, I think he’s been doing a tremendous job filling in for the absences of Brook.”
But what if instead of just filling in for Lopez, the Nets did the smart thing at keep Plumlee as the starting center?
Take a look at how the Nets fare when the two players are on and off the court.
| Impacts | On Court Per 48 Min | Off Court Per 48 Min | On Court Per 100 Poss | Off Court Per 100 Poss |
| Lopez | -3.5 | -1 | -3.8 | -1.1 |
| Plumlee | 2.7 | -5.1 | 2.9 | -5.4 |
While the Nets are a few points better per game and per 100 possessions with Plumlee on the court, Brooklyn suffers when he’s on the bench, according to NBA.com. The same can’t be said of Lopez. Brooklyn is pretty close to neutral with Lopez off the court, but lost 3.5 points per 48 minutes and nearly four points per 100 possessions with Lopez on the floor.
“He’s been fantastic,” Lopez said of Plumlee. “He’s gonna keep improving.”
It’s probably going to take a game or two for Lopez to get back into game shape and Hollins should continue to start Plumlee as long as he’s playing at this level.
“Whatever the situation is, I’m gonna do it,” Lopez said. “I’m a coachable guy, I’m team first, I won’t be one of those selfish guys. Whatever we do, as long as it works, I think guys will be for it.”
While Lopez remains injury prone and the Nets continue to get outscored with him on the court, Plumlee provides the team with an answer to their problems at the center position.
There’s a reason why teams like the Kings want to trade for him and teams like the Nuggets are taking notice of his abilities. The Nets finally have a young future star they can bank on, and his name is Mason Plumlee.
Shlomo Sprung is a national columnist for SheridanHoops who focuses on analytics, profiles and features. He is also the web editor of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. A 2011 graduate of Columbia University’s Journalism School, he has previously worked for the New York Knicks, The Sporting News, Business Insider and other publications. You should follow him on Twitter.