January 14, 2015, New York, Brooklyn, Barclays Center.
The Nets' power forward, Mason Plumlee, had the ball on the right side. Standing in front of him was Zach Randolph, who had recently become the subject of frenzied media discussion.
Plumlee had been the 22nd pick in the 2013 draft, and this was only his second year in the league.
Last season, Plumlee had averaged just 7.4 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. His numbers had improved this season, but not by much—8.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per game were hardly worth mentioning.
The numbers alone showed that Plumlee was a blue-collar big man. Paired with Brook Lopez, the white center mostly handled the dirty work.
Scoring was usually not Plumlee's responsibility.
But today, when Plumlee saw Zach Randolph, it was like seeing an ATM. His eyes lit up!
"Mason must be having a blast today. This may be the happiest night of his career. After all, standing in front of him is Zach Randolph, a two-time All-Star and former All-NBA Third Team selection! Without a doubt, Zach has now become Mason's upgrade pack."
The moment the Barclays Center commentator finished speaking, Plumlee suddenly exploded forward, accelerating with the dribble and blowing past Randolph.
Under normal circumstances, that kind of drive would have been difficult to pull off. But Randolph seemed to freeze on the court, only turning to chase after Plumlee once he had already gone by.
He was like a player suffering from lag in a basketball video game. By the time he turned around, it was already too late.
The long-limbed Plumlee rose for a thunderous dunk, yanking hard on the rim.
Randolph was not tall to begin with, and after being beaten off the dribble, it was extremely difficult for him to recover.
Plumlee finished the easy