Despite being a key player in the regular season, Detroit big man Jalen Duren has had a much weaker playoff performance, and that has to change. While he has remained a presence on defense, his offense has largely been lacking. That has certainly impacted the team, contributing to their troubles in both playoff series so far. And they are not winning a title without him giving 110%.
Jalen Duren Has To Get It Together For The Detroit Pistons To Win
When the regular season was winding down, the Pistons were hit with some incredibly difficult news. Star point guard Cade Cunningham sustained a punctured lung in an on-court accident that caused him to miss several games. Pundits gave Detroit a time of death and wrote the team off.
Instead, the team banded together and won nine out of 12 games in Cunningham’s absence. It was a statement that there was more to this team than one player, and that they could get the job done without him. Sure, it wasn’t always pretty, and Detroit is a better team with Cunningham on the floor. These wins were still a vote of confidence in the Pistons as a team.
A big part of that success was Duren. He was a first-time All-Star this year, a reward for his career-defining play over the course of the season. The Pistons’ center finished the season averaging a double-double of points and rebounds, a major contributor to Detroit’s overall success.
Duren Became A Different Player In The Postseason
Unfortunately, Duren is not bringing the same kind of heat to the playoffs. During the regular season, Duren was averaging 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. The postseason has been a much different story as he’s averaging 10.1 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. That is a nearly 10-point drop in production between the regular season and the playoffs, which is not going to win games.
To his credit, Duren’s defense has remained reliable, if not even improving a little bit. His blocks per game in the postseason have actually increased slightly. Duren has also been more intense and effective on the defensive end of the court as a general rule, which is saying a lot.
The problem is that his slight improvement on defense is not enough to offset his extreme decline on offense. This is the team’s top big man, who is averaging 30.8 minutes per game in the playoffs. Detroit cannot afford to have someone who spends that much time on the court not scoring at a higher volume. It speaks to the troubles the Pistons have been having on the court lately.
Detroit Has To Step Their Game Up
At this point, Detroit have played 12 playoff games in 2026 and lost six of them. In both series, they have ended up falling behind their opponents, fighting for survival against teams playing stronger, more consistent basketball than them.
While he’s not the sole source of Detroit’s issues, Duren’s low scoring and brutal shot percentages are a major problem. As it stands right now, the Pistons are down three games to two against the Cavaliers. If Detroit doesn’t want their season to end with game six, Duren has to bring his absolute best to the court. That means getting back to the nearly 20 points per game he was averaging in the regular season.
Being that many of the Pistons’ losses in the playoffs have been by ten points or less, this would be a massive difference maker for them. Duren has what it takes to get the job done. He just needs to break through whatever is holding him back and be the player Detroit needs him to be.
Featured Image: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
