3 takeaways from Pistons preseason loss to the Thunder

Detroit Pistons: Jalen Duren’s rebounding

Duren grabbed 10 boards on Tuesday night including 7 (!!) on the offensive end of the floor. Coming out of Summer League play, Duren’s rebounding was a bit of a cause for concern and something that the young center would need to work on.

Still being 18 years old, and the youngest person in this year’s draft class, it’s clear that there is still much to come for Duren as he works to develop within the Pistons organization. However, it was nice to see that Duren had a strong game on the glass against the Thunder. Duren also grabbed 14 rebounds in the Pistons first preseason game against the New York Knicks, so it’s been encouraging to see improvement already during his preseason (to note, Duren did not play in the Pistons’ preseason game this past Friday against the New Orleans Pelicans).

Against the Thunder, Duren did find himself in foul trouble, logging three fouls in the first quarter that caused him to leave the floor after he came on early in support of the injured Bagley. Duren did clean up the fouls a bit when he returned to the game, but grabbing the three fouls early is tough to overcome for anyone. Duren finished the game with five fouls. Rookie centers traditionally do have a hard time with foul trouble, which is understandable as they get used to what does and does not get called, and hopefully getting a more favorable whistle as they gain league experience.

Fouls will be something to watch with Duren, especially if he gets more significant minutes in the wake of the Bagley injury. I hope that Duren will be cautious enough throughout the season to avoid finding himself in early foul trouble, as he did on Tuesday night. If fouls become an issue with Duren, a larger role could become minimized quickly, due to the volume of minutes that he’s able to be out on the floor.

The rebounding efficiency shown during the preseason has been great to see out of Duren, and if he can stay active on the offensive glass, he may find himself in more scoring opportunities as well.