Entering his third year in the NBA, Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren won’t turn 21 until Nov. 18. The young big man has flashed talent and shown glimpses of becoming a high-level player. He is one of the quickest and strongest big men in the NBA. He is a quality rebounder who has premier rim gravity that is especially beneficial for Cade Cunningham. He’s also a poor defender. Like many other young players, Duren still has a long way to go before becoming a finished product. But Duren must show Detroit signs that he can improve on defense if he is going to have a long-term future with the Pistons.
Coaching plays a crucial role in a player’s development, and Duren hasn’t had the best fortune in this area. He graduated early from high school, reclassifying to join Penny Hardaway’s Memphis Tigers, a team brimming with dysfunction. Then he was immediately drafted by one of the league’s worst teams who have since had three different head coaches in just three years: Dwane Casey, Monty Williams, and now JB Bickerstaff.
Additionally, consider the excitement surrounding Dan Burke’s hiring, a heralded defensive big-man guru, only for him to leave the team very early into the season. In terms of coaching and stability, Duren is looking to finally find that with Bickerstaff who has experience with two elite defensive big men and a track record as a winning coach.
Offense
Jalen Duren continued to expand his offensive game in his second season, averaging 13.8 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game on 61.9% shooting from the floor. He showcased a developing passing game and greatly improved his free-throw percentage from 61.1% as a rookie to a respectable 79% this past season. He remains highly effective around the basket, particularly as a lob target and putback finisher, adding a vertical spacing element that defenses must account for.
If Duren continues to expand his jump shot, he could become a very dangerous scoring center, but even if not, he has shown he can be very effective and at times a force that is hard to stop in the paint. His passing will also have the chance to continue to develop in Bickerstaff’s ball-movement-heavy offense. With a big part of the offense being pick and rolls run by Cade Cunningham, Duren would also benefit from continuing to improve as a screen setter to help make that pairing as effective as possible.
Defense
The defensive end has been an area of concern for Jalen Duren so far in his career. This past season, he averaged a mere 0.8 blocks per game. That was among the lowest of any players who started more than half of their team’s games, with the same blocks per game as guys like Valanciunas, Vucevic, and Ayton, as well as guards like Jrue Holiday, James Harden, and Fred VanVleet. Among Pistons, this was the same as Isaiah Stewart and less than Ausar Thompson and newcomer Paul Reed.
Simply put, Duren needs to be a better shot-blocker and defender. Period. I think that Bickerstaff could greatly benefit Duren, but if he is not engaged at the level he needs to be, Paul Reed and Isaiah Stewart will be knocking on the door to take his minutes.
His athleticism is undeniable, and with his ability to combine that athleticism with his length and hand-eye coordination to track down the ball to excel as a lob threat and dominate as a rebounder, it is almost strange how poor of a shot blocker he has been.
Overall
Duren is an extremely talented young player who has only begun to scratch the surface of his potential. There is hope that JB Bickerstaff can provide the much-needed coaching consistency and set high defensive expectations to push Duren toward becoming the best version of himself.
We have seen flashes of the player that he can be, it is just a matter of being able to put it together and begin to do all of the little things that add up in the end. His impact as a rebounder and ability to score inside will always provide value, but to take the next step and become a more complete player, he must become a difference-maker on both ends of the court.