3 Early uncomfortable questions for the Pistons centers

The Detroit Pistons have started the season with three losses, and though there have been some positives, there are also concerns emerging. 

They’ve been consistently inconsistent, especially on the defensive end and from behind the 3-point line, where it has been feast or famine. 

We saw the potential of the Pistons’ defense in the second half against Boston, where Detroit was dialed in and took over the game with consistent effort and stops. The problem was they forgot to show up in the first half and the Pistons aren’t nearly good enough to only give defensive energy in one half after they are already down 20 points. 

Center play has been an area of focus for the Pistons, and neither Jalen Duren nor Isaiah Stewart have given them complete games so far this season, which brings up some uncomfortable questions, the first being, are these two good enough? 

#1: Is Jalen Duren good enough defensively? 

The answer to that so far this season has been no. 

Duren has averaged a block a game so far in the first three, and we have seen flashes of better defense, especially around the rim. 

But he’s been bad in space and was again against the Celtics, allowing Al Horford to go off early and give the Celtics a big cushion. 

He was a little better against Boston, but let’s be frank, the Pistons were a better team defensively when he was off the floor and that has been the case all season. 

The Pistons have been –28 with Duren on the floor this season and he drags the entire starting five with him, as they all have a negative on/off when he’s on the floor and a positive one when he isn’t. 

It’s no coincidence that Stewart was on the floor when the Pistons made the bulk of their comeback against Boston, but he has questions of his own.