The Detroit Pistons made a late comeback but fell seven points short against the Cleveland Cavs on Saturday afternoon
After solidifying himself as a first-time All-Star midway through the year, Jalen Duren ran into brick wall after brick wall immediately upon entering the postseason, first against the Orlando Magic and now versus the Cleveland Cavaliers in round two.
To open the playoffs, Duren struggled with Orlando’s drop coverage and wasn’t able to contribute through his usual array of lobs off rolling actions to the rim. When that limitation is paired with Duren’s recent inefficiency in one-on-one situations, the Pistons have struggled to compensate offensively.
During the regular season, Duren averaged nearly 20 points and 12 rebounds each night, but his scoring output has been roughly cut in half during Detroit’s playoff run. On one hand, Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham has faced a lot of double-teams that make entry passes to Duren more difficult, but the fourth-year center out of Memphis needs to capitalize on his looks for Detroit to perform at their full potential.
But despite those obvious struggles, Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff still believes in his big man.
“I think it’s not points for us with him,” Bickerstaff told Omari Sankofa of the Detroit Free Press. “I know people want to harp on that, but he just has to do the right thing and I think he’s done that. His rolls and his ability to take gravity to the basket has opened up plays for Tobias [Harris] on the perimeter or Duncan [Robinson] on the perimeter, so if they make the decision that that’s what they want to do, he just has to do the right thing and I think he has.”
During game three against the Cavs, Duren was responsible for just 11 points and four rebounds through his 29 minutes of action. In contrast, third-string center Paul Reed logged just 10 minutes while contributing 11 points and three rebounds in his reserve role, so the big man production for Detroit slanted decidedly in B-Ball Paul’s favor.
Regardless of the rhythm that Reed was in on Saturday, Bickerstaff opted to go with Duren for the final three minutes of the game, which coincides with the timeline for Cleveland retaking their lead for the final time in the 116-109 Cavs victory. Now, Cunningham was responsible for turnovers on three consecutive possessions for Detroit during that stretch, so there were several miscues that prevented the Pistons from closing the way they wanted to on Saturday.
In terms of what Duren can do to be more effective for the Pistons through the rest of the playoffs, Bickerstaff identified one potential area for improvement.
”You look at some of it and it’s a little bit of balance where he can be a little bit lower and finish and be a little bit more explosive at the end, but I feel like he’s not as explosive at the end because sometimes he just gets standing straight up a little bit,” Bickerstaff said.
Now, the Cavs have a two-man unit down low with both Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley patrolling the paint at different times, so Duren hasn’t had the easiest road to travel during the second round. But as an All-Star, Duren is depended on to produce down low against any opposition, and Detroit is looking for much more than 50% of his regular season output.
All season long, the Pistons have dominated the paint, and that point of emphasis has served Detroit well through the regular season before their interior playoff struggles materialized.
Right now, the Pistons are in regroup mode before game four arrives at 8 pm in Cleveland on Monday, May 11.
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