When the Clippers play at Staples Center, they are usually the ones throwing down one highlight-reel dunk after another. But in Saturday night’s game against the Nets, rookie Mason Plumlee gave the Clippers a taste of their own medicine.
Plumlee took advantage of the extra playing time that came with the absence of fellow big men Kevin Garnett and Brook Lopez due to injury, finishing with a career-high 19 points — including a couple of alley-oop dunks and a couple of strong finishes over Clippers star Blake Griffin — on 7-for-10 shooting in 26 minutes to go along with six rebounds and a blocked shot in the Nets’ 110-103 loss in Los Angeles.
“You’ve got to go at [Griffin],” Plumlee said. “He’s coming at you, so you have to meet him.
“In this league, you can’t back down from anybody.”
Plumlee has made a rapid ascension up the Nets’ depth chart over the past two weeks. After sitting out the first two games of the season and playing only a couple of garbage-time minutes in the Nets’ blowout loss in Orlando on Nov. 3, Plumlee was inserted into the rotation the following game against Utah. After not playing against the Wizards, the Duke product has played double-digit minutes in each of the past four games.
And he figures to do the same Monday night when the Nets, losers of four of their last five, play host to the streaking Trail Blazers at Barclays Center.
It hasn’t been hard to see the impact Plumlee has had when he has been on the floor. He has used his youth and athleticism to get up and down the court and has shown nice touch around the rim, as well as an ability to catch tough passes and finish inside.
“He’s just an energizer bunny,” teammate Alan Anderson said. “He brings great defense, he runs the floor great, and his athleticism for a big man is one of the best in the game, and he comes from Duke, so he knows basketball. He brings a lot for us.”
The biggest thing that has stood out about Plumlee so far, though, is his willingness to attack the rim, and to go through opposing defenders to do so, if necessary. Of the 26 shots Plumlee has attempted this season, 23 have been within five feet of the rim, and many of those have been either dunks or attempted dunks.
“I attacked the rim in college, but the NBA game is so different, when you catch the ball on the move and you’re running at least from the way we played at Duke,” Plumlee said. “Some of it is just knowing we have great shooters, so how am I different? What can I bring that’s different from what [Garnett] is bringing or what [Andray Blatche] is bringing, and that’s playing above the rim and attacking the basket.”
The one hole in his game has been his free-throw shooting. While it didn’t stop Plumlee from being aggressive Saturday night, he finished the night 5-for-12 from the line and is now 8-for-19 (42.1 percent) this season.
“No, it didn’t go well,” he said. “If I make free throws, this is a different ball game. That’s noted, and I’m going to get to the gym.
“For me, it’s just about getting comfortable up there. It’s not like I’ve stopped practicing. But I’ll hit free throws going forward.”
That aside, it’s clear Plumlee is going to be a part of the rotation. He’s also making an impression on his teammates with his quick learning curve.
“He’s figuring it out,” Blatche said. “He’s figuring it out fast. We’ve got a lot of veteran guys riding him, telling him what to do, and unlike most guys, who take it as criticism, he’s taking it in and learning, and that’s good for him. That’s helping him a lot.”