Atlanta Hawks: Goals for Miles Plumlee in 2018-19

As we move ever closer to the preseason, let’s take a look at the goals for each player on the Atlanta Hawks as we head into the 2018-19 regular season.

Training camp and, by extension, the regular season are creeping ever closer for the Atlanta Hawks and multiple moves have been made of late to bolster the team’s training camp and non-roster invitees in recent days.

For the players that are quite set in their position within the organization, it’s time to look ahead to next season and outline a few goals for each player on the roster. Next up is veteran big man Miles Plumlee, who is coming into his second year as a member of the Atlanta Hawks.

Sure, Plumlee might not be the sexiest name on the roster, and his 2017-18 season was perhaps one of the least interesting of any member of the roster, but he still provided solid minutes when he played.

When it comes down to it, it’s not his fault that he’s one of the most overpaid players in the league right now, as that horrific 4-year/$50 million deal with the Milwaukee Bucks is one that will haunt both teams (and the league in general for years to come).

For next season, Plumlee’s goals are really all about improvement. Though he played in 55 games last season for the Hawks (his most since the 2015-16 season as a member of the Bucks), Plumlee did not make the most of his time on the court as an injury reserve for the Atlanta Hawks depleted frontcourt in the early to middle portion of the season.

One major goal for next season for Plumlee is to cut down on turnovers and work on controlling the ball. Plumlee had the second-worst turnover percentage on the team with a whopping 23.4 of his possessions ending in a turnover. Only DeAndre’ Bembry, who played nearly 500 fewer minutes than Plumlee, had a worse turnover percentage (24.8).

Plumlee must also aim to be better at the foul line, while also attempting to get fouled more as a hulking big man with decent pick-and-roll gravity as a roll man. He must roll hard to the rim in the pick-and-roll and know that something good will come of that.

Though the team’s roster (and head coach) is significantly different than it was last year, Miles Plumlee remains. If he can attain these goals next year, he can surprise some people with his effectiveness.