The Detroit Pistons have been clearly a much-improved team from last season, and better things should be very much in store for them given how young their core players are. One of those core players is Jalen Duren, the double-double machine who had himself a monster night on the glass on the day of his birthday despite the Pistons’ disappointing 122-112 loss to the Chicago Bulls.
Duren, who has been relatively quiet as of late, dominated on the glass to the tune of 22 rebounds — with over half of those boards (12) coming on the offensive end of the floor. And in so doing, the young Pistons center became the player to tally the most rebounds in a single game on the day of his 21st birthday, as pointed out on the broadcast earlier.
He managed to one-up Chris Webber, who, in his 21st birthday back in 1994, hauled in 18 boards of his own in what was such a dominant effort that set him on his way to becoming one of the best power forwards of his time. Back on March 1, 1973, Webber, in addition to setting the record for most rebounds during one’s 21st birthday at the time, put up 26 points, six assists, four steals, and two blocks, leading the Golden State Warriors to a five-point victory.
The outcome of the game, however, will not be to Duren and the Pistons’ preference. They have been stringing together plenty of good performances as of late, and most of their defeats have been of the heartbreaking fashion — losing close games to the Houston Rockets, Milwaukee Bucks, and Charlotte Hornets, all of which were winnable until the very end.
But this performance from Duren should be a good sign for the Pistons, especially when he’s been facing his fair share of struggles as of late.
Jalen Duren showcases his dominant potential despite Pistons loss
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Jalen Duren has proven capable of putting up monster stat lines in the past. He even averaged a double-double last season, putting up 13.8 points and 11.6 rebounds — asserting himself as a threat on the Pistons’ interior. However, there’s been a bit of a drop-off in Duren’s level of play to begin the 2024-25 season. He entered Monday night averaging just 8.6 points and 9.7 rebounds while averaging a career-low in minutes per game (24.4).
Some of that has been due to Duren’s penchant for getting into foul trouble. But the Pistons have opted to play Isaiah Stewart at the five for certain spells amid Duren’s struggles — particularly on the defensive end. He has been having similar defensive issues to start the year, as his positioning and awareness on that end of the floor haven’t quite caught up yet to his athletic gifts.
At the very least, it’s nights like the one Duren had on his birthday that will reassure the Pistons of the 21-year-old center’s place in their long-term plans. He has, however, a lot to learn on how to anchor a defense. Heading into the Pistons’ Monday night defeat to the Bulls, Duren had a net rating of -7.2 (per PBP Stats), which explains why JB Bickerstaff has been relying on Stewart more often as of late.
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