Detroit Pistons: 3 overreactions after the first 3 games
Overreaction #3: Jalen Duren should start
Isaiah Stewart has had a pretty good start to the season even though he has not shot the ball well. He does a lot of other things, especially defensively, and his rebounding has been good so far.
But the Pistons are leaving a ton of points on the board every game when Stewart can’t handle or finish passes on the interior once Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey draw in the defense. It’s been a problem for him consistently in his career and has continued this season.
Stew’s shooting has been poor so far, so it’s not like he’s creating a lot of space out there anyway, as teams are packing the lane and daring him to shoot most of the time.
There is also the issue of size and athleticism in the starting lineup, as the Pistons are getting killed on points in the paint, and a front court of Bojan Bogdanovic and Isaiah Stewart isn’t doing much to dissuade it.
That’s why many people are calling for rookie Jalen Duren to get into the starting five, as he will dunk those dump offs at the rim and can provide some shot blocking, size and athleticism that the starting unit lacks at the moment.
Duren is currently 5th among rookies in scoring and has shown more as a passer than we would have expected this early in his career.
He’s not going to space the floor, but he gives Cade and Ivey a lob threat that they don’t currently have, and it’s possible that Stewart’s shooting (if he starts to make them) would be more beneficial to Killian Hayes in the second unit.
In many ways Stewart is the heart and soul of the Detroit Pistons, but he can still provide that energy off the bench. Duren is the center of the future, and I don’t know if it’s an overreaction to say that the future may need to start now even though he is the youngest player in the league and still very raw in some areas.
The Pistons could also move one of Saddiq Bey or Bojan Bogdanovic to the bench and see how Duren and Stewart look together, but until Stewart starts hitting shots, that group may not have enough scoring or spacing.
Hopefully the Pistons will start to change some of these narratives and we’ll look back on these issues as just huge overreactions early in the season and not consistent problems that carry on all year.