Miles Plumlee’s Value To The Phoenix Suns

By Gerald Bourguet | Feb 9, 2015

Feb 8, 2015; Sacramento, CA, USA; Phoenix Suns center Miles Plumlee (22) reacts after being called for a foul against Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) during the third quarter at Sleep Train Arena. The Sacramento Kings defeated the Phoenix Suns 85-83. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

A few weeks ago, ESPN’s Marc Stein reported that the Phoenix Suns had put Miles Plumlee on the trade block and were working in conjunction with Plumlee’s agent to try and find a more suitable destination for the backup center.

But with Alex Len injured once again, the Suns may need to rethink that stance.

Last Thursday against the Portland Trail Blazers, Len went up to catch an alley-oop pass and was fouled by Robin Lopez. The contract threw Len off balance and he wound up spraining his ankle. For many Suns fans, they were literally watching their worst nightmare:

Despite not even being a member of league for two years, Len already has a worrisome and extensive injury history, including his ankles. Before his rookie season, Len needed surgery on both ankles, which held him out of the NBA Summer League. That issue and a myriad of other nagging injuries limited Len to only 42 games as a rookie.

This season, Len has asserted himself as Phoenix’s starting center. He’s shown promise as a stretch-five, a monster shot-blocker and (fingers crossed, Suns fans) a potential game-changing rebounder in the middle. He’s struggled with foul trouble and consistency at times, but Phoenix vastly improved after moving him into the starting rotation.

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However, with the Suns in the middle of a heated playoff chase, the margin for error is incredibly slim, especially now with Len out. Head coach Jeff Hornacek said the Suns won’t see Len back before the All-Star break because there’s no point in rushing him back only for him to re-aggravate it.

There’s only one game left for the Suns before the All-Star break — against the Houston Rockets on Tuesday — so if Len’s injury really isn’t serious, there’s a good chance he’ll be back in the starting lineup for Phoenix’s next game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Feb. 20.

But given what we know about Len’s history with those ankles, it’s safe to say Plumlee’s value to the Suns has just gone up and most likely moved him off the trade block (if he ever really was there to begin with).

Plumlee can be frustrating to watch at times. If an angel gets its wings every time a bell rings, it probably gets them taken away every time Sky Miles bobbles a pass to him right at the basket. But after watching his minutes decline, especially since the Brandan Wright trade, credit Plumlee for staying ready in case he were called upon.

With Alex Len out, Miles Plumlee will continue to be called upon.

To be clear, Plumlee hasn’t become the two-way force everyone thought he could become when he put up 18 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks in his first ever game as a Phoenix Sun (still one of the best games of his career). But to ignore his contributions since stepping back into the starting lineup would be a mistake.

Plumlee’s stat lines don’t really jump off the page. In a win over the Utah Jazz, Plumlee finished with a pedestrian six points, four rebounds, two steals and a block while shooting 3-for-7 from the floor. But he was banging bodies with Utah’s tough frontcourt all night, altering shots in the paint and turning rebounds into fast break opportunities:

Without Len, the Suns actually out-rebounded Utah by one, a pretty impressive feat for a team that lost the battle of the boards by 18 the last time they met in November. Plumlee didn’t grab a ton of rebounds, but he tipped a few balls to teammates and was part of the collective team effort to make up for Len’s absence.

Against the Sacramento Kings, the more important story is how the Suns came out flat and lost to a team they cannot afford to lose to at this point in the season. We can gripe about yet another unlucky buzzer-beater dropping, but Phoenix should never have put themselves in the position of trailing a bad team by 14 late in the game.

However, Plumlee was actually one of the few bright spots in the game. He didn’t contribute much on the offensive end (four points, 2-of-3 shooting), but he finished with 12 rebounds, four blocks and a steal while battling DeMarcus Cousins all night. The Suns tied the Kings on the battle of the boards as well.

Now, Plumlee didn’t exactly stop Boogie dead in his tracks, but NOBODY’s capable of doing that to Cousins these days. It’s worth noting that Plumlee made life a living hell on Cousins in the fourth quarter during that Suns’ run, playing him physically and frustrating him.

Don’t believe me? Consider that Cousins was 2-for-7 from the floor until the game’s final minute of play — and also committed one turnover — with his primary defender being Plumlee for that whole stretch.

Boogie had the last laugh over Markieff Morris at the buzzer, but Plumlee’s team-high plus/minus of +13 (tying T.J. Warren off the bench) showed just how well he stepped in for Alex Len.

Ideally, Len will come back healthy as soon as possible. The Suns are not a better team with Plumlee starting at center, even if he has stepped back into his old role as well as anyone could have expected. But with Len’s ankles threatening to be a shaky proposition again, I’d be very surprised to see Sky Miles moved before the Feb. 19 trade deadline, especially since the All-Star break lasts through Feb. 18.

Next: Phoenix Suns: 5 Reasons To Keep Gerald Green

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