For the first time all season, Mason Plumlee did not start Saturday. Head coach Mike Krzyzewski has tinkered with his lineup all season, starting eight different units, yet Mason had been the only player to have his name called before every tip.
But in a game when the Blue Devils needed overtime to eke past Virginia Tech 70-65, it became clear that this team’s chances for consistent success rest with the inclusion of their junior forward.
Duke has shown that it can win games without Mason. The Blue Devils toppled No. 15 Florida State on Thursday despite him registering just one point and five rebounds in 17 minutes.
“I kind of expected [not to start],” he said. “I didn’t play well the last two games. I was in foul trouble, so you just have to move on. It was good to play another game.”
Duke shot 13-of-28 from long range against the Seminoles, led by Andre Dawkins who nailed six of his nine attempts.
To win without his presence in the paint, though, the team has adopted a live-by-the-three, die-by-the-three strategy that poses risks exposed in Saturday’s near-upset. When Dawkins missed all three of his attempts against the Hokies, and the team made just 6-of-24 3-pointers, it opened the door for the Blue Devils’ third home loss of the season.
“That’s part of basketball. You’re going to make some, you’re going to miss some,” junior forward Ryan Kelly said. “We got good opportunities, good looks, and we tell our guys to take those shots. Make them or miss them, we feel like they’re good shots.”
To shoot that poorly, turn over the ball more and notch fewer assists than Virginia Tech, Duke needed the help of elements beyond its control—such as the Hokies shooting an abysmal 7-of-16 from the foul line—just to send the game to overtime.
Mason’s brother Miles has proven in recent performances, such as last night’s in which he grabbed 15 rebounds, he is an elite rebounder. But he has yet to prove he can change a game on the offensive end, hitting one field goal in his 33 minutes of action.
As good of a shooting team as the Blue Devils are—which, to be clear is a very good one, hitting 38.7-percent from beyond the arc is tops in the ACC by over two percentage points—they need to further integrate Mason within the offense.
His 10.7 points per game are just fourth best on the team, but his 55.6 field-goal percentage is the best of the four players who average double-digit points. The only regular who eclipses that rate is his brother Miles at 61.5 percent, but the older brother takes over three fewer shots per game and has yet to demonstrate the post moves Mason has shown flashes of this season.
It remains unclear if not starting Mason foreshadows future lineups or if it was more of a one-game statement, as it was with Rivers who after a rough patch did not start against Wake Forest, only to start every game and lead the team in minutes played since then.
“I’m going to come ready to play every game whether I come off the bench or not,” Mason said. “For me, it doesn’t change anything.”
Rivers may be this team’s best scorer, Curry and Kelly the team’s steady veteran hands and Miles the best rebounder, but for this team to avoid depending so dramatically on the nightly fluctuations of 3-point shooting, it must develop its inside presence, a conversation that begins with the inclusion of Mason Plumlee.
With Kelly fouled out down the stretch against Virginia Tech, Mason turned it on, hitting a clutch free throw with less than a minute remaining in overtime and grabbing a clutch offensive board to set up his own layup that brought Duke within one with 50 seconds to go in regulation.
The team should continue integrate him for that potential and the dimension he adds to the offense.
“Mason made a huge free throw,” Krzyzewski said. “It was a big time free throw. It would have been nice if it were an and-one. It was right there. Tyler gave him a great pass, and if we can finish some of those plays, we’ll be better.”
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