The Detroit Pistons won their third straight last night and it wasn’t a surprise, as they win every game in which Jalen Duren scores at least 20 points.
That’s been the case so far this season, as Detroit is a remarkable 11-0 when their starting center scores 20 or more points, which he did last night, putting in 23 points on just 10 shots.
Duren has already shown he was smart to bet on himself when he didn’t get the extension offer he wanted from the Pistons, as he may now be on his way to a max contract, a price the Pistons are willing to pay if they have found their second star.
Duren has quietly been the key to the Pistons’ dominance in the Eastern Conference this season, which shows exactly how important having that second star actually is.
Is Jalen Duren the Detroit Pistons’ number two?
The biggest question coming into the season was whether the Pistons needed to make a move for a second star to pair with Cade Cunningham or if that guy was already on the team. Trajan Langdon resisted some tantalizing options, and it has paid off so far.
Both Duren and Ausar Thompson have shown flashes of being that guy, but in Thompson’s case, his offensive game is not evolved enough to be a true number two, at least not at this point in his career.
Duren has looked far more the part, which was not expected this year, given that he is only 22 years old and came into the season with big question marks of his own.
Duren has mostly answered those by averaging 18.5 points and 11.1 rebounds, both career highs, and being one of the anchors of the NBA’s second-best defense.
But it’s that scoring statistic that is the most interesting in terms of what the Pistons consistently need, because as good as Duren has been, he’s still not a guy you can count on for 20 points every night.
Whenever he scores 20, the Pistons win, so it shows just how important having a true second option is, as Detroit has been unbeatable when someone other than Cade scores 20 points.
With Duren it’s as much about how the Pistons are scoring as how much, as 20+ points from him means they are getting in the lane, which is where they like to butter their bread. The Pistons had an incredible 70 points in the paint last night against the Kings and added another 27 fast break points, which shows how they like to get it done.
Cade Cunningham is obviously the focal point for opposing defenses, but stopping Jalen Duren is rapidly becoming just as important, as he is quietly the key to the Pistons dominating the paint and winning the game.