Jalen Duren starting an uncomfortable conversation

The Detroit Pistons won their first home playoff game since 2008, but it wasn’t a great night for everyone, as Jalen Duren struggled for the second game in a row. 

The Pistons were able to redeem themselves with an elite 3rd quarter defensive performance for the ages, and Duren did have a much better second half, but up until that point, had struggled mightily. 

He finished with just 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting and once again had a hard time getting to his spots, with Orlando doing an admirable job of eliminating him on the pick and roll. 

Duren coughed the ball up three times in the first half, dribbled into traffic and looked frustrated for most of it. The Pistons were able to free him up for some easy looks in the 2nd half, but Duren never really asserted himself or looked like the guy who dominated all season. Isaiah Stewart almost matched his numbers in half as many minutes.

He still has plenty of time to turn things around, and I’m not going to get too upset after a resounding win. I also think Orlando is a tough matchup for Duren, as they muddy up the paint and have plenty of big bodies to throw at him, which is not true of every team. 

But if Duren continues to struggle, the Pistons will be back to a similar uncomfortable conversation this summer. 

How much should the Pistons pay Jalen Duren? 

I’ve had a few people suggest to me that the Pistons should let Duren walk or trade him to avoid paying him a big contract, which is absurd. 

Regardless of what happens in this series, Duren is an ascending big man whose leap was a huge part of the Pistons’ success this season. I can’t see a scenario where the Pistons would let him go, especially since he is best friends with Cade Cunningham and the two have formed one of the most dynamic duos in the game. 

But Duren may be burning money, as he has not looked like a max center or a guy who can be a consistent second scoring option. 

He’s also had plenty of defensive lapses in this series which have caused all of the same old questions about Duren to resurface. If he’s not a second scoring option and not an elite defender, how much can the Pistons justify paying him? 

Duren has already proven a lot of people wrong, and given he is only 22, still has lots of room for growth and improvement that I do think is coming. But Trajan Langdon has been adamant about paying for production, not hope, so Duren will need to produce in the playoffs if he wants anywhere near a max deal. 

Pundits have been killing the Pistons all year for not extending Duren last summer, but this is exactly why they didn’t, as they want to see how he performs on the big stage before making their assessment. 

Duren just needs to break out for a monster game to make everyone forget the first two and flip the narrative back in his favor heading into the summer. 

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