Jalen Duren was one of the first to the podium after the Detroit Pistons’ win over the Hornets yesterday and he had plenty of interesting things to say.
He talked about how the team couldn’t let up against a depleted opponent, and how they wanted this to be a game where some of the bench guys could get more run, but that didn’t happen after the Hornets made a big move in the 4th and the Pistons had to leave their regulars in the game.
He also talked about his recent surge and gave a candid evaluation of his early-season struggles that had some fans wondering if he would or should be traded at the deadline.
"I think it's pretty obvious I started the season slow, on some soft sh*t ... I had to hold myself accountable and knowing how I can impact the game and do it every single night."
I'm sure Duren heard/read some of the chatter around him early in the season and it's great to see him get it and respond.
The trade talk has all but gone away (at least for now) and has pivoted to whether the Pistons will offer Duren a lucrative contract extension this summer.
Duren has been much better of late, whether you are looking at raw stats, using the eye test or just evaluating his role.
Jalen Duren’s surge and evolving role on the Detroit Pistons
Duren has averaged 12.8 points, 11 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.1 blocks per game over his last 25 games, all up from early in the season.
More than that, he’s been consistently locked in, and even if the results aren’t always there, the effort is, which is something we didn’t see early on. This is a young player learning that you can’t take quarters or night’s off in the NBA and expect to dominate on talent alone.
Duren still has defensive issues, especially guarding the pick-and-roll or anytime he has to do anything in space, but he’s challenging more shots around the rim, grabbing more rebounds and is giving effort.
With effort and process, the results will come, and given that he is only 21-years-old, it’s a great sign that he has figured this out.
But it’s been on offense where the improvement has been most noticeable, and it’s offense that really defines the ceiling for Duren, as he was never thought of as an elite defensive prospect, but one who was intriguing for what he could do with the ball.
The Pistons have been using Duren at the elbow far more often, as JB Bickerstaff called it, a “hub” for the offense and he’s been doing well.
He makes the right reads most of the time, has been putting the ball on the floor and taking it to the rim some and has been offering more than just a guy who catches lobs.
He has to be more than that offensively for the Pistons and he has been of late, as he’s had some nice passes to cutters and looks to be more comfortable in the dribble handoff and making reads out of the short roll, which are the things that made him so exciting as a rookie.
The difference over the second half of this season is that the effort has been more consistent. Duren still has a long way to go, but the Pistons have to feel more comfortable that they have found their center of the future after this recent surge.