What is the Biggest Difference in Mason Plumlee's Game? Steve Clifford Explains

The veteran center is on his way to having a career year.

Mason Plumlee was darn near perfect in Charlotte's 111-96 win over the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night. He went 9/9 from the floor and 3/4 from the line, finishing with 21 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, and one left-handed jumper that had the entire Hornets' bench on their feet celebrating.

Mason Plumlee really just hit a pull-up middy to put the nail in the coffin for the Bulls. pic.twitter.com/cbYUtESABL

— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) January 27, 2023

Last year, Plumlee was good in spots but it wasn't consistent enough. He didn't seem to really fit in with James Borrego's style and because of it, Plumlee had a season full of ups and downs. Over halfway through this season, Plumlee is producing at a high level and is on pace for a career year averaging 12.2 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 3.6 assists while shooting 67% from the field. 

What has allowed Plumlee to make this big of a jump to where he's become one of the few consistent players on the Hornets roster? I asked head coach Steve Clifford for his opinion.

“I think one of the things, which not many people can do, is his confidence in making free throws. He has such good instincts, he’s faking and creating contact versus the film I watched last year, he wasn’t going to contact as much. He was trying to score around the defense or kick it out. He makes a lot of really good passes from the interior out, but in this stretch, he’s taking the ball hard to the basket, and he feels good about his free throw shooting. To be able to do what he’s done, I’m not sure many people can do that. He’s a terrific worker. He was in here all summer doing it, so he’s got confidence.” 

If you haven't watched much of the Hornets this season (trust me I understand) you may not know that Plumlee has fully transitioned to playing the game left-handed. Last season, Plumlee dealt with an injury in his right index finger that he was able to play through but the swelling made it uncomfortable for him to shoot with his dominant hand. He began shooting free throws left-handed and actually found more success than he had shooting righty. 

This offseason, Plumlee put in a ton of work really perfecting (as best as he can) the ability to fully go left-handed and he's gotten to the point where he now has confidence to take mid-range jumpers in the game - something he didn't really even do much of when he played right-handed. Now, he's not going to do it 4-5 times a game and he may go several games without taking one, but if a defense gives him the space, he has enough trust in it to take the shot.

With the trade deadline just around the corner, the Hornets have to decide what to do with the surging veteran. Do they take advantage of his stock while its high and trade him? Or do they believe he can continue to be a piece of what they want to do over the next couple of years as he helps Mark Williams develop? It'll be interesting to see what Mitch Kupchak decides to do.

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