Detroit Pistons Vs. Los Angeles Lakers Injury Report: Duren Out 2 More Weeks

After two weeks without Jalen Duren, the Detroit Pistons finally released an update on their 22-year old All-Star center, but the prognosis is somewhat concerning. After rehabbing his strained right hamstring for the last two weeks, Duren is set to be reevaluated in two more weeks, so he’s not ready to make a return even though he’s been cleared for on-court work. 

Duren’s addition would have helped the Pistons for tonight’s matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers, who are currently third in the Western Conference after a strong 8-2 start. Without JD in the mix to start the year, Detroit has shifted Paul Reed into the starting lineup to help bide their time mostly successfully, but Duren has still been missed. 

At the same time, Pistons shooting guard Isaiah Joe has battled a hip contusion after taking a hard spill against the Philadelphia 76ers on Oct. 25, though he is not able to play tonight either. Now, Joe was spotted near the floor just after Detroit’s shootaround before facing the Sixers again last week, but the long-range marksman was out his fifth consecutive game in lieu of more recovery. 

Switching to the other side of tonight’s matchup, the Lakers have been toying with the idea of resting Luka Doncic due to lower back stiffness despite his electric start to the 2026-27 campaign. According to the team, Doncic will be unavailable to play against the Pistons so that he can tend to that back issue, so the Lakers will need to find a way to replace 40 points per game in short order. 

As a subtext to that news, the basketball world will be robbed of a meeting between Doncic and Ausar Thompson in what would have been an elite scorer against possibly the world’s best perimeter defender. Doncic is coming off an emphatic 53-point outing against the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night, so the Pistons likely would have used Thompson to help eliminate any chance of that kind of production today. 

Since Doncic has been ruled out for tonight’s affair, expect for Austin Reaves to step up as the primary scoring threat on a still-talented Lakers squad with Walker Kessler in the middle. Reaves has put up north of 23 points per game this season, so he’s no stranger to tickling the twine when called upon. Without Luka in the lineup, the Pistons will need to keep an eye on Reaves and limit his opportunities to punish Detroit inside Little Caesars Arena. 

When Doncic has suited up for the Lakers, they have had the top offense in the NBA through three weeks, but the Pistons conveniently boast the top defensive rating in the league. So, today’s contest was slated to pit two teams against each other in a proper stylistic battle, but Doncic’s health has proven to be a mitigating factor.