The Detroit Pistons re-evaluated Jalen Duren’s hamstring injury, and he’s been cleared for basketball activities, which is the good news.
The bad news is that he’ll be out at least two more weeks before he is evaluated again, and if you’ve been following the Pistons long enough, you know how this two-week carousel can go. Just because Duren will get looked at again in two weeks, doesn’t mean he’ll be back, and often times two weeks turn into another two weeks and then another.
We have to hope that’s not the case, as the Pistons have been struggling in some areas where they are usually strong and have guys like John Collins playing out of position far too often, which has led to a rough start for him.
The Pistons also play seven times in the next two weeks, and all of them will be without their starting center, which is going to be a challenge.
The Pistons upcoming schedule without Jalen Duren
Detroit’s next seven games happen to feature some of the best centers in the NBA, but they should be able to string together a few wins at the tail end of it to gain momentum for Duren’s (hopeful) return.
The next two games are against the Wizards, and the Pistons may get lucky here, as big man Anthony Davis is out with an ankle injury (SHOCKER!) and listed as questionable for tonight’s game.
He’ll have until Thursday to recover after that, so even if Davis doesn’t play tonight, there is a chance the Pistons will catch him later in the week in the second matchup.
Then it’s on to Miami, where Giannis and Bam will be happy to see Duren on the sideline in street clothes, and that goes double for Victor Wembanyama, who is next up and has put up prime Wilt Chamberlain numbers against the Pistons so far in his career, and that was with Duren in the lineup.
Luckily, the Pistons then have the Pelicans, Raptors and Hawks, three teams that don’t have elite centers, so Detroit should be able to make up some ground here even without Duren.
Hamstring injuries can take forever to heal, and the Pistons aren’t going to rush Duren back, so there is a good chance he’ll be missing more than just the next two weeks.
Detroit has to find ways to survive without him, so JB Bickerstaff is going to have to get creative and deploy small-ball lineups at the right time so that the Pistons don’t get killed on the boards.
The Duren news was good, as he didn’t have a setback and is now working on his return, but it didn’t solve the Pistons’ immediate challenges.
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