The Pistons have managed to scrape by with Jalen Duren sidelined, but they desperately need him back to help the team’s depth and minutes distribution. In his absence, Cade Cunningham and Paul Reed have both been forced to play big minutes since they don’t have much depth to help them in their roles.
Detroit needs Duren as soon as possible
Duren isn’t even scheduled to be re-evaluated until November 8th at the earliest. By his next injury update, the Pistons may play as many as 4 more games - if you count the faceoff against the Lakers on that re-evaluation date. Reed has done a nice job holding it down at the center spot without Duren, but the Pistons’ depth has been pitiful behind him.
As of right now, the only other true center on the team is Tolu Smith. However, Smith has looked terrible in his scant minutes this season. The Pistons’ other center options are small ball lineups with guys like John Collins in the middle, but those have also been inconsistent.
The Pistons can probably fare decently well against their upcoming opponents even without Duren. Between now and Nov 8th, they play the Hornets, Nets, 76ers and Lakers. Detroit’s already beaten two of those teams without Duren and Brooklyn is heading towards the bottom of the East.
But after that come two consecutive games against the Wizards and one with the Heat. Both opponents are conference rivals and also have established All-Stars playing center. It’ll be a tall ask to go into those matchups with just Paul Reed and little else at center.
Hopefully Duren can return soon
Beyond the obvious center issue, Duren’s absence has also hurt the Pistons’ overall offense. Without him to be another reliable scoring option, Cade has reverted to an extremely ball-dominant style and his teammates have looked stagnant. We were hoping to see Duren take over even more scoring and playmaking duties this season, but it’s been delayed by his injury so far.
For all the talk about Duren’s poor offensive fit with Ausar Thompson due to their mutual lack of shooting, Duren does at least occupy defensive attention thanks to his formidable paint scoring. As a result, Ausar sometimes faces less defensive pressure with Duren on the court. Even if Duren can’t shoot, his matchup might be hesitant to leave him open for a lob or offensive rebound.
Duren and Thompson could’ve also improved their offensive fit by seeing more passes from Duren to Thompson out of the short roll, especially with Thompson cutting to the rim. That action yielded great results in previous seasons, but Duren went away from it last year as he focused on improving his scoring. They need to re-establish that chemistry this season, and it’s also being delayed by Duren’s injury.
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