Marshall Plumlee aims to make positive impact on Bucks with two-way contract

The clock has started ticking for new Milwaukee Bucks two-way center Marshall Plumlee, who signed last Monday with Milwaukee Bucks and Wisconsin Herd. As part of his contract, he'll be able to spend about 20 days with the big-league squad.

But when Plumlee took the court on Saturday night at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center, he wasn't thinking about his ticking clock of NBA availability, auditioning for a better contract or anything like that. He had a job to do trying to help the Bucks contain 76ers center Joel Embiid while also whittling down a double-digit deficit.

“The whole two-way thing is new to me," Plumlee said. "I’m not even thinking about it. I’m just playing as if I’m a Buck — and I am. I’m going to do whatever I can to help the team for as long as I can. ...

“It’s great because they brought me in and they’re not asking me to do anything I can’t do. They’re just wanting me to be the best version of myself."

Plumlee played just nine minutes in Milwaukee's 116-94 loss, but he undoubtedly made a positive first impression. His 4 1/2 first-half minutes coincided with a solid burst from the Bucks that cut a 15-point deficit down to six before halftime.

By the game's end, Plumlee had made his only field-goal attempt along with four free throws for six points while accumulating the second-most rebounds on the team with six. He brought a physical inside presence — something the Bucks have been lacking most of the season — and was not shy about speaking up to call out screens and cuts while on defense.

“I don’t know if it’s rare, but it’s definitely nice," Matthew Dellavedova said of having a new player so willing to call things out in his first game. "Especially at the five spot you’ve got to anchor the defense, talk a lot of screens.”

Saturday's debut didn't answer all of the questions about the Bucks' interior play, but it was a positive effort. Taking into account that Plumlee joined the organization this week, played with the Herd on Wednesday then joined the Bucks for a pair of practices before making his first appearance, his teammates got a positive impression from Plumlee's first game action.

“He played great, man," Bucks point guard Eric Bledsoe said. "I couldn’t say enough about him. In his first game playing with us, he played phenomenal.”

Marshall, the third in a parade of Plumlees to play four years at Duke before reaching the NBA, has followed in the footsteps of Mason and Miles. In joining the Bucks after spending last season split between the New York Knicks and Westchester Knicks and opening this season with the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario, he joins both an organization and a coach that are familiar in the Plumlee household.

Mason played for Bucks coach Jason Kidd in Brooklyn and Miles spent two years with the Bucks in Milwaukee from 2015-'17. Marshall solicited advice from both of his older brothers as he embarked on this new phase of his career as he chose a two-way contract with the Bucks rather than waiting for a chance at a more lucrative 10-day contract.

"Looking at the character of the organization, what they’ve been able to do the last few years, how they keep taking steps forward that’s an exciting and rare thing in the NBA and I want to be a part of that," Plumlee said.

Even if he didn't already have brothers familiar with Kidd and the Bucks, Plumlee quickly started to feel at home upon arriving with the Bucks. Right from his first practice, Tony Snell, Matthew Dellavedova, Bledsoe and Jason Terry latched onto him and started to bring him into the fold.

Those players are making sure he knows the basics of Milwaukee's offensive and defensive schemes and where he needs to be. If there are critiques to be made — during practice, in the locker room or during the game — those players have made them in a way that Plumlee says come across as thoughtful and uplifting. 

“I’ve got to give shoutouts to all the guys for instilling confidence in me," Plumlee said. "They’re really in my ear. They’re a great set of veterans on this team, really making me feel right at home and showing me right where I should be. I’m in a great position as a young guy to have vets like that looking out for me.”

Plumlee may get the opportunity to stay on the active roster for Monday's 7 p.m. game against the Phoenix Suns at the BMO Harris Bradley Center because all-star Giannis Antetokounmpo will sit out due to right knee soreness. Antetokounmpo missed the last matchup with the Suns and a big man on a two-way contract, Joel Bolomboy, loomed large, playing the whole overtime period to help the Bucks claim a win in Phoenix.

The Bucks and Plumlee will hope for a similar result as Milwaukee aims to curtail their current losing skid at two games to stay above .500.

"He’s done a great job so far and he’s eager to learn and has been doing all the right things so far," Dellavedova said. "It’s going to be exciting to see what he can do next game and going forward.”