Jalen Duren is a very talented player, but his inconsistency is hurting the Detroit Pistons, just as it has for large chunks of his career. In the first four games of the new 2025-26 campaign, Duren has flip-flopped good game, bad game, good game, bad game. The Pistons need him to be better on a night-to-night basis, particularly on the offensive end.
At just 21 years old, Duren is in the very early stages of his NBA career, even though this is already his third season in the league. He’s the full-time starting center in Detroit, with Isaiah Stewart providing them with backup minutes. Duren has played well, but if the Pistons want to be a serious threat in the East, they need more from him.
They need consistency. And they've needed it from him his entire career.
What has Jalen Duren’s inconsistency looked like?
In the season opener, Duren was solid for Detroit. He put up 15 points and six rebounds while shooting 7-of-132 from the floor. It was a decent first performance of the season.
Unfortunately, in the Pistons’ very next game, Duren was only good for six points and six rebounds. He shot just 3-of-4 from the field, failing to prop himself up within the offense.
But in the next one, he was back. And in a big way. Duren finished his third game with 24 points and 18 rebounds, shooting 6-of-12 from the field.
Yet in his fourth game, it was back to the other side of things. Duren only had eight points and seven rebounds in the contest, shooting 3-of-5 from the field.
All that being said, the Pistons’ actual win-loss record hasn’t perfectly coincided with Duren’s good and bad offensive performances. They lost their first game of the season when he was solid, but won the second. Then, they won the third game, but lost the fourth.
It’s been an up-and-down year for Duren, just as it’s been an up-and-down year for the Pistons. And though there hasn’t been a direct correlation between the two inconsistencies, Duren staying aggressive on offense would certainly help Detroit.
Part of that will be on Cade Cunningham. As he runs the offense, part of the onus should be on him to get Duren more involved in the pick-and-roll and feed him the ball in the paint.
However, Duren should also take some responsibility to ensure that he gets a consistent number of shots per game. Right now, his offensive role is fluctuating on a game-to-game basis.
Even when he grabbed three offensive rebounds in the second game against the Houston Rockets, Duren only attempted four shots in total.
If the Pistons want to take another leap, they need Duren to be more consistent on offense.