Detroit Pistons’ Jalen Duren finds ways to be productive during postseason

admin-cdn16 hours ago

0 1 4 minutes read

Detroit Pistons' Jalen Duren finds ways to be productive during postseason

Detroit Pistons are favored to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference semifinal.

The Engine Room: Curtis, Tarohn pick the Pistons in seven games against the Cavaliers.

Detroit — From the moment Jalen Duren attempted to receive an entry pass in the restricted area of Little Caesars Arena, it was evident the Detroit Pistons’ first-round series against the Orlando Magic would be challenging for the All-Star big man.

The moment came at the 11:03 mark of the first quarter of Game 1 on April 19. Ausar Thompson tried to connect with Duren on an alley-oop attempt, but the Magic sent four players to collapse the paint, which disrupted his timing and ability to finish the two-hand dunk attempt.

The way the Magic sent extra bodies around Duren was their way of executing coach Jamahl Mosley’s defensive scheme to contain him amid his leap to All-NBA status. Despite the Pistons’ 3-1 comeback in the series, Mosley’s strategy nearly made Duren ineffective on the offensive end.

Against the Magic, Duren averaged 10.9 points with a field-goal percentage of 52.9%, marking a significant decline from his career-best regular-season averages of 19.5 points on 65.0% shooting. Despite his offensive struggles, Duren still made an impact by stepping up on defense.

“Just trying to stay with it. Obviously, (it) started out really rough, trying to just figure out my spots, figure out where I can be effective at. But as the series went on, watching film, just understanding that every series, every game is going to bring a different challenge,” Duren said. “If I’m struggling for the ball, my whole thing was let me just be effective on defense, let me attack the boards, let me try to keep them off the boards, let me try to protect the paint, protect the rim the best that I can.”

The Pistons entered their second-round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers with arguably the best defense among the final eight teams. Detroit produced the highest defensive net rating of 101.9 while limiting Orlando to a league-low average of 97.7 points per game. The Pistons also ranked first and ninth in blocks and steals, averaging 9.4 and 7.6, respectively.

Similar to the regular season, Isaiah Stewart and Thompson received much of the credit for the Pistons’ strong defense; however, Duren was equally impactful.

He averaged 1.3 blocks during the seven-game series. His best defensive performance came despite the Game 3 defeat, in which Duren notched a season-high five blocks inside Kia Center on April 25. However, Duren’s most important non-scoring moment came in the final seconds of Detroit’s Game 5 victory.

“He impacts the game in so many ways. I think people want to focus on stats and numbers and points, but that’s not only where he helps us,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “He does a great job defensively protecting the rim, communicating our defense. Our defense isn’t where it is without the anchors that we have here. Every single night, he went out and anchored our defense, and our defense was elite through this whole series.”

With 35.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Cade Cunningham made a mid-range jumper that helped the Pistons secure a 116-109 victory, staving off elimination. The crucial moment was set up after Thompson won a 50-50 ball from the Magic’s Jalen Suggs. It followed Tobias Harris’ missed 14-foot jumper over Paolo Banchero.

Amid the ensuing chaos, Thompson gained control of the loose ball that resulted from Duren tipping an offensive rebound to his teammate. If it hadn’t been for Duren’s hustle, the Pistons’ season could have ended in Game 5, especially since the Magic had all the momentum during the last five minutes of the game.

“You can be effective in different ways,” Duren said. “Scoring has never been the main part of my game; it’s something that I’ve added, and over the last couple of years and months or whatever. But I feel like it was just key for me to stick with it. That’s it.”

Duren finally overcame his struggles during the Pistons’ Game 7 clincher. Along with grabbing 15 rebounds, he notched his only double-double performance of the series by adding 15 points. Duren’s play helped lift the Pistons to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2008.

Although Duren provided enough production to prevent a major upset for the Pistons, they will need more from their star big man against the Cavaliers, considering the consistent offensive threat they pose.

Duren’s struggles were challenging during the first round. But, starting in the Eastern Conference semifinals, the second round gives him a chance to apply the lessons learned against the Magic to have an even greater impact versus the Cavaliers.

“I know who I am, I know who the team is,” Duren said. “I never doubted anything. I never doubted the guys that I was going to war with. I never doubted the coaches. Never. Let’s keep going, let’s keep proving the world wrong.”