Where In The World Is Miles Plumlee?

The Milwaukee Bucks have been quite good this season. They have a chance to triple their win total from last season. But they could be even better.

Here’s a fun fact: there is only one Buck currently playing that is top six on the team in rebounds, assists, points, blocks, field goal percentage, Player Efficiency Rating, offensive rating, defensive rating and also in the bottom six on the team in turnovers and personal fouls committed per 36 minutes.

The guessing can begin now. Hint: it’s somehow not Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Feb 28, 2015; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) dribbles the ball during the second quarter against the Utah Jazz at EnergySolutions Arena. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports

It’s Miles Plumlee.

Feb 26, 2014; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Phoenix Suns center Miles Plumlee (22) goes up for a shot against Utah Jazz center Derrick Favors (15) during the first half at EnergySolutions Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

Plumlee is third in field goal percentage (50 percent), fifth in rebounds (7.6), fifth in assists (3.8), first in blocks (3.8), sixth in points (14.2) and last in both personal fouls and turnovers committed (with neither of either) per 36. Plumlee leads the Bucks in PER (23.2), offensive rating (120), and defensive rating (97).

Is the sample size small? Of course it is! It’s practically miniscule considering Plumlee has played just three games (38 minutes total) for Milwaukee this season. But that’s the problem: Plumlee isn’t playing enough.

Plumlee has been on the Bucks for five games this season and only appeared in three games. According to the box scores Plumlee was uninjured, it was simply the coach’s decision to not play him. That decision befuddles me, and I’m not someone who gets befuddled often.

Of course the aforementioned numbers speak at least partially for themselves; Plumlee has played exceedingly well in his only three games with the Bucks. But those stats at least have the possibility of being inflated due to the very little playing time Plumlee has had. But there is still some valuable information there.

The most telling tidbit for me is the lack of turnovers and fouls. There are only two players on the Bucks who have more assists than turnovers and personal fouls combined: Miles Plumlee and Michael Carter-Williams. MCDub is on the list because he is an incredibly skilled passer who can thread the needle with precision passes; Miles Plumlee cannot do that.

But he can (and does) take care of the ball and he does not make mistakes covering his man. That’s evidenced by his excellent defensive rating with the Bucks so far this season: Plumlee’s defensive rating of 97 means for each 100 possessions of whoever he’s guarding, only 97 points are scored.

If those numbers don’t seem impressive to you (and they didn’t impress me at first either) this one will. Only eight players in the NBA have a defensive rating under 100 this season. If Plumlee had played as well as he has in Milwaukee so far for the entire season he would be the second best defensive player in the NBA, behind Draymond Green.

Would he play that well for an entire season? Maybe, but most likely not. More minutes would expose him to more fatigue and also probably some better opponents (although that might at least be somewhat offset by Plumlee being able to get into a groove by getting to play more minutes per game).

But if he even played close to that well, with a defensive rating of 100 instead of 97, he would still be a top ten defender. Most Bucks fans are still talking about the team needing a franchise center to truly have their core set, but what if they already have one?

More from Behind the Buck Pass

Plumlee isn’t old by any means. 26 would make him older than the rest of Milwaukee’s core (MCDub is 23, Khris Middleton is 23, Giannis is 20 and Jabari Parker is 19) but it’s important to note Plumlee hasn’t played many NBA games for a 26-year-old, merely 151.

John Henson (who is 24, two years younger than Plumlee) has already played over 170 games in the association. Middleton has played 164. So despite his advanced age on this incredibly young team, Plumlee should have a lot of miles left on his engine.

One of the most frustrating parts (as a fan of basketball, in addition to an analyst) of watching Plumlee keeping the bench warm instead of heating up on the court is the player starting in place of Plumlee. If it were John Henson I could at least see the argument.

Although he’s played more games than Plumlee, Henson is younger and supposedly has the higher potential. He’s also been very good this season, which helps in the argument. But Henson is not currently starting at center for the Bucks (and he’s also not starting at power forward, which I believe Henson plays just as well as he does center. I’d love to see him as a power forward/center as a much needed sixth man of sorts for the Bucks down the line).

Zaza Pachulia is (and Ersan Ilyasova is starting over Henson at power forward).

Neither Zaza Pachulia or Ersan Ilyasova will be starting for the Bucks after the rebuild is complete. Henson or Plumlee very well could be. So why not play them now? This is the season to experiment and see what Milwaukee really has in these two.

Throw them into the fire. Give them significant minutes in the playoffs. Will they struggle?

Probably. Most players do at first.

But the goal of this season is not to win as many games as possible. It’s to develop. The Brandon Knight trade confirmed that. Now Jason Kidd needs to reaffirm it and start playing Henson and more importantly, Plumlee.

In addition to the stats showing Plumlee deserves more of a role on the Bucks this season, he passes the eye test with flying colors. You can see him hustling hard every second he’s out there, and he presents a big presence in the paint, something Milwaukee has sorely missed this season.

Here’s a vine of Plumlee chasing down Boogie! Cousins from behind to ruin his dunk (and probably his day).

Here’s Plumlee showing some pretty exceptional athleticism (maybe he should’ve been in the dunk contest instead of his brother).

And here’s a nice combination block/rebound on Milwaukee’s own Jabari Parker.

This article is essentially a very bold and somewhat foolhardy prediction, I really do know that. 38 minutes is nothing in the NBA and Plumlee could just as easily play worse with the increased minutes. I just don’t think he will.

Maybe a few months ago I would’ve been saying the same things about Plumlee, that he can’t actually be that good and that really good centers don’t just show up. But then Hassan Whiteside showed up.

Whiteside came out of nowhere this season to average 10.5 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game. Those are very good numbers. Whiteside had never played 20 games in a season before this year, but he did appear in a game back in the 2010-11 season with the Sacramento Kings. He then floated around Europe and China and the NBA D-League for a while, eventually settling in Miami.

The rest, as they say, is history. Whiteside is now the subject of countless blogs and articles (including this one, where I got most of my Whiteside history from) and seems like one of the best assets in the NBA considering his miniscule contract.

So why couldn’t the same happen with Miles Plumlee in a new system, a new city and most importantly a new team here in Milwaukee? Whiteside is just a year younger than Plumlee, it’s certainly not impossible for a player to peak later than most do.

Personally, I think it could. At least to a somewhat lesser degree. The only way to find out is to get Plumlee out on the court, instead of hidden away on the end of Milwaukee’s bench.

Next: BTBP Comic #1: The End Of Knight