Jalen Duren is heading into a pivotal season of his career. He will be up for a new contract next season, and also plays a key role in helping the Pistons take the next step as a team. Luckily for Pistons fans, Duren approached the offseason with the perfect mentality and worked on all the right things.
Jalen Duren is addressing his weaknesses
Duren came into media day and emphasized his improved conditioning. He was excited to share that he feels better than ever physically, and has seen improvements in both strength and agility. On the agility front, he added that he should be a better defender with his increased mobility and better reaction time.
Duren’s defense was the #1 complaint that Pistons fans had with him last season. Despite his size and athleticism, Duren was not statistically a great rim protector last season and really struggled against more mobile big men - check the playoff film against Karl-Anthony Towns. His emphasis on improving in this area over the offseason should bode well for the team.
Duren has a lot of room to grow defensively, but already showed some improvement last season. In particular, he had better defensive outings once Ausar Thompson rejoined the lineup and he had an additional help defender on the backline. With a fully healthy offseason and an even bigger role for Ausar this season, Duren should expect more of the same support and bring his best on defense.
He also mentioned getting in some workouts with Rasheed Wallace, a longtime mentor going back to his college days. Sheed is of course a Pistons legend who was integral to the 2004 NBA Championship, and any insights he can give Duren will be very helpful. Wallace was a dominant post player on both ends in his heyday - a trait that would add to Duren’s impact.
Jalen Duren is more of a known commodity on offense, where his primary value comes as a screener and play finisher, typically off a pass from Cade Cunningham. As usual, he spent time with Cade this offseason to continue harnessing their connection. With some of the ambitious passes that Cade throws, it’s vital that these two are always on the same page.
Beyond catching lobs, Duren is looking to expand his game more. He mentioned having a green light to shoot more jumpers, which can be a good counter against paint-packing defenses. Even an occasional free-throw line shot can keep defenses more honest.
Additionally, Duren is looking forward to running actions with new addition Duncan Robinson. Robinson had a devastating two-man game with center Bam Adebayo in Miami that was built around dribble hand-offs. Duren exclaimed that he wants to receive the same passes from Robinson this season, which will be mutually beneficial for both of them.
Finally, Jalen Duren expressed his love for the city and organization. He said that Detroit has become a home since joining the team at 18, and he wants to spend his whole career there. He’s got the opportunity to do that and earn a long-term contract by showing the right improvements this season.