Pistons center Jalen Duren finished with 10 points and 16 rebounds but could have been even more influential
For much of the Pistons’ now-finished 13-game winning streak, Detroit relied on a steady dose of offensive balance between Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren. Working in the two-man game, Cunningham and Duren connected on countless lobs during that stretch, and the two simply dominated the pick and roll at times on offense. So, when Duren finished the Pistons’ three-point loss to the Celtics with only 10 shot attempts, it signalled an issue in the Detroit offense.
Now, the Pistons battled significant injury woes for the most of those 13 games, so Detroit is in a much better position depth-wise than it has been recently. However, with the return of several injured players back to the lineup, Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has been forced to shake up the squad and redistribute the minutes.
The result, at least so far, is a Pistons offensive attack that lacks the same teeth that it had earlier in the season. Duren is in the midst of a career year with just above 20 points per game, and he was a dominant force over the start of the season for Detroit, so it does not make a ton of sense to deviate from that gameplan.
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In games where Duren has logged at least 25 minutes, 10 field goal attempts is the lowest amount he’s had this season. So, the Pistons offense is clearly working to get back into rhythm with so many players now available once again, and Duren is watching his volume decrease after only 10 attempts on Wednesday against Boston.
From a stylistic standpoint, Duren has been remarkably effective on dribble drives, and the Pistons center was shooting above 80% on jumpers before the Celtics game. So, when Duren is involved in Detroit’s offense, particularly in the pick and roll with Cade, then the Pistons generally have been outpacing their opponents, which is reinforced by the team’s 15-3 record.
This season, the Pistons lead the NBA in scoring in the paint, and JD is a focal point behind that metric. Now, Duren has been joined by Isaiah Stewart down low in the post on a more consistent basis this year, which is another new wrinkle in Bickerstaff’s offense. The Pistons did not run the two-big lineup regularly last season, but after some early-season success it appears to be an element that Detroit is going to work on refining throughout the year.
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But against Boston, Duren was redirecting most of his effort to cleaning the glass for Detroit. At the end of the first half, Duren had 13 rebounds to his name and finished the game with 16 boards in what was a dominant performance down low.
For years now, Duren has operated as one of the most efficient big men in the league from a scoring standpoint. Duren has developed a virtually unstoppable lob connection with Cunningham across his four-year career, and the two have combined for a flurry of thunderous alley-oops already this season. The Pistons offense is flowing at its best when Cade is able to create easy opportunities for Duren to finish at the rim. That’s a facet that Detroit went away from on Wednesday, and it hurt them down the stretch.
Look for Duren to be more involved when the Pistons take the court after Thanksgiving. Detroit is slated to play the Orlando Magic in another NBA Cup contest at 7:30 on Friday, Nov. 28.
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