The Detroit Pistons are heading into an elimination game against the Cleveland Cavs with an important lineup question to answer
Trailing 3-2 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals after dropping a tough overtime loss to the Cleveland Cavs in game five, the Detroit Pistons are in a familiar position with their back against the wall.
The Pistons are walking into an elimination game on the road tomorrow, and the performance from All-Star center Jalen Duren is drawing a flight of criticism from Detroit fans and basketball analysts alike. Through 12 games in the playoffs, Duren has eclipsed the 12-point threshold just once, and he’s been a similar non-factor in the rebounding battle. And for a player that thrived on second-chance opportunities, that’s a major problem for the Pistons.
During game five, Duren posted nine points and five rebounds in 25 minutes, which is less than half of the production JD logged in the regular season. Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff went with Duren for the first three quarters last night before substituting Paul Reed into the five spot, which is a move that the Detroit general stuck with for all 17 minutes of the fourth through overtime.
”My brothers handled it,” Duren said after the game. “B-Ball came in ready to go and did his thing. As long as we get the win, I’m good. Obviously, it didn’t come out how we wanted it to today, but like I said, as a team we’ve just got to regroup, come back and bring it back to Cleveland then bring it back to Detroit.”
When the final buzzer sounded on Cleveland’s 117-113 win, Reed finished with 10 points and eight rebounds in far less playing time than his center counterpart in the Motor City, and the calls for B-Ball Paul to enter the starting lineup ahead of game six have become almost deafening.
“I feel like I can be better in all aspects of the game and continue to grind and continue to grow,” Duren said.
While Bickerstaff’s center substitution pattern on Wednesday night was far from typical, it’s indicative of a pervasive feeling that the Pistons may need to turn to their most productive postseason big man with their season hanging in the balance tomorrow night.
During the regular season, Duren started every game that he was healthy for, which is a nod to Bickerstaff’s confidence in his starters and the role that each player operates within. But as it pertains to JD in the playoffs, no other All-Star in NBA history has had a greater drop off in postseason scoring than Wilt Chamberlain’s 15-point decline during the 1962 season. That year, Chamberlain still finished second in playoff scoring. JD, on the other hand, is hovering in 79th position as the Pistons playoff hopes are in the process of floundering if course-correction does not occur before game six.
”You’re going to have to choke the life out of this team,” Bickerstaff said. “We’re not going to go down without a fight. We’re not going to go down without kicking, punching, grabbing, clawing. That’s just who we are, and we’ve been in this position before and we were able to work our way through it. I expect our guys to be ready mentally to go out and compete at a high level and bring this thing back here.”
As Bickerstaff alluded to, the Pistons went down 3-1 in the first round to the Orlando Magic before rattling off three consecutive victories, so Detroit has been in a similar (worse, even) situation before, but the onus is on the Eastern Conference’s top seed to swing the second round’s momentum back in their direction. Judging by recent postseason results, Reed could be the type of player that tips the scales back towards Motown if he’s given a chance to start game six.
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