It’s fair to say that there have been two different versions of Jalen Duren this season, the one who dominated in the regular season for his first All-Star and possibly All-NBA appearance, and the one we’ve seen in the playoffs, who has been a disaster.
Duren was held to just eight points last night, the 5th time in the playoffs he’s been held to single digits. Keep in mind that this happened just SIX times in the entire regular season, as Duren was a reliable and efficient double-double machine for 70 games, so he's nearly matched that in 11 games.
This is not the part of Duren's regular season that we wanted to see in the playoffs.
Duren shot 65 percent on the season but has been just over 50 percent in the playoffs and has gone from non-factor in the Magic series to complete liability in this one. Duren coughed up four turnovers last night, exactly double his number of rebounds.
There have been so many troubling things about Duren’s playoff fall that even Homer #1 is starting to question how this is going to affect the offseason no matter how this series turns out.
So, what has happened? Duren has lost his swagger.
Jalen Duren is living in his head
After watching Duren be hyper aggressive around the rim all season, he has suddenly devolved into a guy who can barely get a shot off. It seems like Duren has been stuffed more times these playoffs than he was all season.
To be fair, he’s gone against two teams that protect the rim at an elite level, but Duren hasn’t been able to bully his way for hoops and fouls as we saw him do in the regular season.
But it’s not just that he isn’t scoring. Duren suddenly can’t catch or handle the ball, isn’t securing rebounds, is letting smaller guys yank the ball away from him and is turning it over constantly, which the Pistons cannot afford.
He was so out of it last night, that he rolled free to the basket in the second half and didn’t even look for the ball, leading to a turnover on Cade Cunningham that was entirely Duren’s fault. All season long we’ve watched him make that catch and rip the rim off, but he wasn’t even looking for it.
Duren has lost his swagger, but he can get it back quickly at home.
Jalen Duren has to get back to basics
I’ve written about this a lot, but if Duren wants to get back into this series, it has to be on the glass, as the Pistons can’t survive with him pulling down two rebounds in a game.
This has to be his focus, as it will lead to some fouls and hopefully easy putbacks, but he’s been outrebounded by everyone. Duren has been a step slow, off timed on his jumps and hasn't held onto the ball when he has gotten his hands on it. Get going on the glass, and the offense will follow.
Duren also just has to be stronger with the ball in general. He can’t continue to fumble passes, dribble the ball of his feet, and lose 50/50 balls under the rim. Be decisive and take care of the ball, and the offense will follow.
The Pistons better hope it does, and that Duren remembers who he has been all season.
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