Jalen Duren of the Detroit Pistons is the youngest player in the NBA and not supposed to be ready for the rotation, but someone forgot to tell him that.
The Pistons got smacked in their preseason opener against the Knicks, and there weren’t many bright spots, as they turned the ball over a ton, shot poorly and generally put up lackluster effort against New York.
One of the few positives was rookie Jalen Duren, who grabbed 14 rebounds and added a block in 24 minutes of play in the loss.
Rebounding is an area that Duren needs to improve, so it was nice to see him aggressive and effective on the boards.
But the most impressive part of Jalen Duren’s game was his defense, as he showed signs of being an elite defender at only 18-years-old.
Detroit Pistons: Jalen Duren’s defense
In the modern NBA, centers can no longer be content to stand in the paint and wait to block shots. They have to be able to switch on the perimeter and hold their own against quicker players, as almost all NBA teams switch everything on the pick-and-roll now.
If you take a look at last year’s All-Defensive team, five of the members were these types of switchable bigs, as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jaren Jackson Jr., Bam Adebayo, Draymond Green and Robert Williams III are all guys who can guard the paint, but also step out and defend on the perimeter.
Duren showed that he is more than just a shot blocker against the Knicks, as he was comfortable switching on the perimeter and had some really good stands, keeping smaller players in front of him and forcing tough, contested shots, which is exactly what you want when your big man ends up on a perimeter island.
If you watch Duren in this highlight, he first follows his man to the 3-point line, jumps the first screen to break up the play, then switches on the second, moving his feet to stay in front of the guard and then forcing a tough, contested shot. He then follows the miss and is able to grab the rebound.
This is the type of defensive play we often see out of Giannis or Bam Adebayo, so the fact that Duren is already doing this at age 18, bodes well for his future as a defender for the Detroit Pistons.
Duren looks ready for the rotation now, and to be honest, looked like the best Pistons’ big man in their first preseason game.