The Detroit Pistons’ Jalen Duren is one of the most talented young big men in the league. At the age of 21 he has tremendous potential and is already one of the most effective rebounders in the NBA, including a top 15 offensive rebounder at 3.2 per game. However, for Duren to become a true star, improvement in these three key areas (plus one bonus area) would help.
Become a more efficient screener
Duren shoots 75 percent as a roll man but only gets 1.3 possessions per game in the pick-and-roll, which is low for an NBA center. Currently Duren is not heavily involved in the offense unless the Pistons are running a pick-and-roll. His points per possession are 1.26 and effective field goal percentage is 72 percent. These are solid numbers. But these numbers could improve if he further evolves as a screener.
His shooting percentage in these situations suggest more involvement is advised. The goal is to become more effective in the flow of the pick-and-roll offense which could launch Duren’s offensive game even further.
Duren often rolls too early after making minimum contact with his man, which doesn't help him or the ballhandler. Better screens equal more space and more dunks for Duren.
Improve help defense and increase shot blocking
Duren may not be a natural rim protector, but he can be effective at times as we saw in his strong defensive stand late in the Kings game in which he kept DeMar DeRozan in front of him and eventually got the swat. He currently sits 27th in the league with 1.2 blocked shots per game, so Duren is among the worst starting centers when it comes to blocked shots.
You could expect some natural improvement in help defense with more reps and time, particularly if Pistons head coach JB Bickerstaff and his staff stick around, providing some stability with defensive strategy and game planning.
Help defense isn't just about blocking shots from the weakside, as Duren can also help his teammates with active hands, disrupting dribble handoffs and giving his teammates a chance to get a steal or deflection as he did effectively a few times against the Lakers.
Duren is not in the top 300 in the league in defensive win shares, a sign that he is not doing enough on that end. He doesn't have to evolve into prime Hakeem but needs to play smarter and find ways to affect the game defensively aside from just trying to block shots.
Develop a three-point shot
Duren simply doesn’t shoot three-pointers so there’s no way to know how effective he could be. Pistons fans shouldn’t have an expectation for Duren to wake up one day and shoot 40 percent from beyond the arc but developing the threat of a deep shot can help Detroit further spread the floor and improving offensive spacing.
Like it or not, the 3-point shot isn't going anywhere, and we've seen everyone from Joel Embiid to Victor Wembanyama launching them. Duren doesn't have to evolve into a volume 3-point shooter, but being some kind of threat outside of the paint would improve the offense when he's on the floor.
Bonus: Return to 2023-24 FT shooting
It’s possible that 2023-24 was a mirage, as Duren shot free throws at a 79 percent clip last year. His other two years are 61.1 percent his rookie year and 60.5 percent this year. If he can consistently shoot better than 70 percent and raise his free throw attempts to well above three per game, Duren’s impact in the scorebook will be more significant.