Jalen Duren is coming off a big season in which he proved himself to be a valuable offensive player. He was a prolific finisher, especially off of Cade Cunningham alley-oops, and also displayed some other skills such as occasional ball-handling and brilliance in short-roll passing. He will surely continue to add more to his offensive game, but his next major leap needs to come on defense.
Jalen Duren: Protecting the rim without fouling
Last season, Duren improved his defense compared to previous seasons as he got used to playing in an actual winning environment. Further consistency in his defense will be key for continued success individually and as a team. In 43 wins that he played in, the Pistons had a 104.3 defensive rating in Duren’s minutes. Conversely, in 35 losses that he played in, the Pistons had a 126.4 defensive rating in Duren’s minutes.
A point of emphasis for Duren’s defense is contesting without fouling or biting on pump fakes. Last season, he averaged 3.2 fouls per game (8th most in the league) in just 26 minutes per game. All of the players ranked above him in fouls per game played at least 29 minutes per game.
Contesting without fouling is a difficult skill to master, especially for young centers. But Duren does have a good example on his own team in Isaiah Stewart. Stew does have a moderately high foul rate as well (2.5 fouls per game in 20 minutes of action last season) but he contests a preposterous number of shots.
Stewart’s per-minute contest rate was third in the entire league last season, and he finished 9th overall in total contests (one spot and 9 contests ahead of Duren) despite playing only 72 games with the aforementioned 20 minutes per game. Stewart’s ability to contest everything in the paint without having an astronomical foul rate would be an incredible skill for Duren to pick up on.
On top of decreasing his foul rate, Duren can also improve straight-up at pressuring opposing rim finishers. Last season, players shot over 64 percent at the rim when Duren contested, a far cry from Stewart’s 58 percent. Duren certainly has the size and athleticism to alter shots at the rim and even make some fantastic recoveries, so it’s a matter of improving his awareness and timing.
Taking some tips from Stewart can elevate Duren into an elite rim protector and elevate the Pistons into the upper echelon of NBA defenses. It would also create more transition runout opportunities, which Duren excels in and frequently turns into highlight dunks.