Fans and pundits often focus on what players can’t do instead of what they can, which has certainly been the case in the young career of Jalen Duren.
We’ve talked endlessly about how Duren can’t shoot, about how he can’t guard in space and how he needs to be a bigger defensive presence at the rim, ignoring the fact that he’s still only 21 years old, even though he came into the league looking like a grown man.
Duren has always been physically commanding, and instead of going away from that, he’s leaned into it this season and is becoming the ideal version of himself, which is a player who dominates the rim at both ends.
Jalen Duren’s defensive improvement
Up until this season, the Pistons have always been a better defensive team when Jalen Duren is off the floor, but that’s no longer the case. Opponents are shooting just 58 percent against Duren at the rim, which puts him in line with some of the NBA’s best rim protectors, including his teammate Isaiah Stewart, who currently leads the league, allowing just 45 percent.
Duren is averaging the most steals and blocks of his career and is generally far more engaged and energetic on that end.
His defensive leap has been a big part of the Pistons’ early success, and he’s doing it by embracing his physicality. Instead of constantly chasing blocked shots, Duren is using his body and strength more effectively and not getting out of position as often.
This is exactly what we wanted to see from Duren, and the most exciting part is that he’s just getting started and still has a long way to go.
Jalen Duren on offense: Why shoot when you can dunk?
Many fans have called for Duren to add a jumper to his game, and he might at some point, as he’s shown he can shoot by knocking down over 80 percent of his free throws this season.
But right now, Duren is dominating games as a roll man, ranking near the top of the league in points per possession. He’s averaging three possessions per game as a roll man and converting for 1.46 points, which is near elite.
Duren hasn’t tried to add a lot of flash to his offensive game, but instead just got better at what he already did well, which was create gravity as a roll man, catch lobs for huge dunks and cash in offensive rebounds for putbacks.
Duren didn’t radically change his game but just got better at things he already did well and made some of the necessary adjustments on the defensive end. It’s led to him averaging nearly 20 points and over 12 rebounds per game while looking like the second star in Detroit.