Pistons vs. Hawks: Short memories, Jalen Duren's injury status and how to watch

The Detroit Pistons begin 3-game homestand tonight against the Atlanta Hawks as they try to shake off a tough loss. 

You have to have a short memory to be a pro athlete and the Pistons will require it tonight as they try to forget the heartbreaker they suffered against the Hornets, a game that was costly for a couple of reasons. 

The Pistons hoped to establish themselves as one of the best “bad” teams by beating the Hornets and I am certain Cade Cunningham wanted to show that ESPN’s preseason player rankings were a fluke. 

But the real cost was when starting center Jalen Duren had to leave the game after only eight minutes, adding to the Pistons injury report. 

Pistons injuries: Will Jalen Duren play against the Hawks? 

Detroit is still missing Ausar Thompson and Bobi Klintman, with no indication when either of them will return. 

Starting center Jalen Duren is listed as doubtful for tonight’s game after he came down awkwardly against the Hornets and limped off. It didn’t look bad at the time, so we have to hope this is just a minor tweak and the Pistons are being overly cautious. 

Detroit’s center depth wasn’t great as it is, though Paul Reed did put up a surprise 13 points for the Pistons in the loss to the Hornets. The question is whether he or Beef Stew can stay on the floor for more than a few minutes without fouling. 

The Hawks have plenty of injury woes of their own and will be missing Vit Krejci (is that a real person?), Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kobe Bufkin, D’Andre Hunter, Seth Lundry and Cody Zeller who are all listed as out for tonight’s game. 

How to watch Pistons vs. Hawks 

Tonight’s 7:00 PM ET tip off will be televised on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit Extra or you can listen on 950 AM. 

You can find all of your streaming options here. 

How will Pistons adjust if Jalen Duren is out? 

The Pistons only have three centers on their roster, so it’s likely we’ll see Isaiah Stewart in the starting five tonight. 

That’s not the worst thing, as the Pistons have been better with him on the floor, but the bigs will have their hands full tonight against Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu, who both get after it on the boards. 

The duo averages nearly four offensive rebounds combined, so Stewart and Reed will have to be strong on the defensive boards to reduce their second chances. Jalen Johnson is also averaging more than 10 rebounds per game so far this season, so Tobias Harris needs to have a big night on the glass. 

The Pistons also need to take it to Trae Young on both ends by attacking him when he’s on defense and making him give up the ball on offense. The Hawks will likely put Dyson Daniels on Cade Cunningham, so this could be a big night for Jaden Ivey. He has to make Young defend and chase him all over the court. 

This starts a string of three winnable games for the Pistons, so they have to forget about the buzzer beater in Charlotte and take care of business tonight at home.