The Detroit Pistons will play their third preseason game tonight, this one on the road against the Timberwolves, and there is still no confirmation if Jalen Duren will make his first appearance since signing a $200 million deal.
Head coach JB Bickerstaff wouldn’t confirm if he was going to play tonight, saying, “We’re just being cautious and making sure we don’t put him in a compromising position...But he’s done everything we’ve asked him to do. He’s been able to pass all the tests.”
If Duren were definitely going to play, he probably would have just said that, so we’ll have to wait until closer to game time to find out for sure.
If Duren is ready to play, he should, as it would be best for him to get acclimated to game speed before he returns home to Detroit.
Will Jalen Duren play tonight against the Timberwolves? He should
It’s always hard to tell from social media how the Pistons fanbase is really feeling, as many of the terminally online people don’t represent any reality but their own.
But from what I’ve encountered, fans were not happy with how Duren handled his contract negotiation. Personally, I couldn’t care less, as it’s not my money. I wish things had gone more smoothly than they did, and that he was in camp on time, but I don’t have any personal beef with Duren and will be cheering for him like I do all Pistons players.
I am not sure that’s true of everyone, so while I don’t expect to see Duren booed off the floor in their finale against the Raptors, I do expect he’ll hear a smattering of boos.
Even the fans who don’t boo are going to hold Duren to a completely different standard now that he is making $40 million a year, as that puts him among the elite centers in the NBA when it comes to salary.
They aren’t going to tolerate a slow start, and if Duren has a couple of clunky games, we’re going to hear the word “overpaid” before we even get out of October.
Duren shouldn’t want that kind of microscope on him in his first game of the preseason, so I am hoping he’ll play tonight and get the early jitters out on the road where he won’t feel as much pressure from the fans.
Most of the pressure Duren feels will be from himself, as he certainly wants to show his team and fans that he was well worth the investment, so I expect we’ll see him pressing a bit early on and maybe trying to do too much.
That’s better worked out on the road, so hopefully the Pistons will clear Duren for a short stretch tonight against the ‘Wolves.
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