The young Detroit Pistons are trying to prove they can hang with a more experienced team in the playoffs and some of them have more at stake than just wins.
Both Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren are eligible for extensions this summer and so far, haven’t helped their cases in the postseason.
Ivey is still injured and is unlikely to play in the first round, though he did show improvement before a broken leg took him out of action in January.
Duren had a lackluster game one and didn’t assert himself on either end of the floor, something that can’t happen again if the Pistons are going to pull off the upset.
What was worse was that the Pistons had to hide him on Josh Hart, avoiding the Karl-Anthony Towns matchup that many feared coming into the series.
It's not a great sign when you have to change up the defense to hide your starting center, and if Duren doesn’t turn things around, the Pistons have some tough questions to ask before they give Duren an extension.
Is Jalen Duren the starting center on a playoff team?
The Pistons hope their playoff run this season wasn’t an anomaly and that they’ll be appearing regularly from now on, so answering this question is of utmost importance.
We always have to start by saying that Jalen Duren is 21 years old and has played exactly one playoff game, so It's not like his future is set in stone no matter what happens in this series.
The Pistons don’t even have to extend him, as they could let him just play out the final year of his deal and would still have team control over his future as a restricted free agent, though that option obviously comes with some amount of risk.
But if Duren is a guy who can’t defend centers in the playoffs, then that is a problem or at least a factor in how much they will offer him this summer.
Is Jalen Duren more important than Isaiah Stewart?
He certainly wasn’t in game one, as the Pistons were best with Stewart on the floor. Duren offers much more offensively than Stewart, so the duo can continue to work as they did this season, but it does raise the question of Duren’s value.
Few would argue Duren should get a max, and I don’t think he will, and it’s even fair to say the Pistons shouldn’t offer much more than the $16 million a year they gave Isaiah Stewart.
My guess is Detroit will start negotiations at $20 million per season with Duren’s camp looking for closer to 30, so the Pistons are going to have to decide how much is too much for a center with clear and important shortcomings, which is complicated by his age, potential for growth and the fact that he was great at times this season.
This whole narrative can change with a big game 2 from Duren, and I wouldn’t count that out, though he has had most of his big games against bad teams.
For better or worse, this series is going to affect Duren’s future payday and right now he may be costing himself money.