With Cade Cunningham out, Detroit Pistons pushing Jalen Duren to expand offensive game

Jalen Duren’s first bucket of the night was a dunk.

That’s not a surprise, considering he scores most of his points on putbacks and lobs. But the way he got to the rim was different from the norm.

The 20-year-old secured a defensive rebound and took the ball coast-to-coast, gliding through San Antonio’s unsuspecting defenders.

Later in the second quarter, he caught Dominick Barlow off balance with a pair of right-handed dribbles after driving from the top of the key, then finished with a layup.

The two plays were features of the Detroit Pistons’ offense, rather than aberrations. With Cade Cunningham set to miss at least four games with a left knee strain, Duren is among several Pistons attempting to fill his void. In both Cunningham-less home games this week, Duren has scored several times off of drives to the rim, rather than his usual diet of dunks and clean-up plays around the rim.

Monty Williams is pushing his starting center to expand his game. In the midst of a season that has gone way south, Duren, averaging 13.6 points and 11.4 rebounds this season, has been granted the autonomy to show off parts of his game that have rarely been shown.

The Pistons were blown out by the Spurs, 130-108, on Wednesday for their sixth straight loss. Duren led Detroit with 21 points, making 10 of his 16 shot attempts.

“When guys do stuff in practice and they work on it, you’ve gotta do it in the games,” Williams said. “When I see him working on this stuff, and not doing it in the game, I always ask guys ‘Well, what’s the point of you doing this stuff?’ He’s an improved worker.

“If I see you doing it, my job is to push you to do it in the game, even if you’re not as comfortable. I think he’s a guy that has more levels to his game than he’s shown. He’s more than a lob threat or finisher around the basket. He can do some stuff with the ball that’s unique to a guy his size. We want to encourage him to do it.”

The second-year big got to work immediately against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday, finishing a layup through Domantas Sabonis after creating room with a shoulder bump, attacking a gap for an easy layup and and drive and cross on Keegan Murray into a hook shot after grabbing the defensive rebound and taking the ball up the floor. All three buckets were within the first 4 minutes of the game.

He’s still scoring in more traditional ways as well, but his behind-the-scenes work is beginning to show.

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“Been good,” Duren said. “Been working on it a lot, over the summer coming into the league, over this summer, during the year. Being out there just hooping, honestly. Nothing pre-determined. Just hooping for real.”

Duren was also efficient against the Kings, scoring 16 points on 8-for-14 shooting with 10 rebounds. But he’s still feeling out what he can and can’t accomplish as a go-to offensive option. He took six jumpers on Wednesday, including three straight in the fourth quarter with the game out of hand. He missed all but one.

Already turnover-prone, Duren has also put too much trust into his handle at times. His lone turnover on Wednesday initially looked like an three-point-play opportunity, as he backed down the defender and powered through him in the paint to finish through contact. But the Spurs challenged the call, and it was changed to an offensive foul after a review.

The Pistons, in the grand scheme, can live with those mistakes — particularly in a season that already is lost. Duren still has a lot of growth ahead. After a strong start to the season defensively, he hasn’t been the difference-maker in the post the team desperately needs. His best path toward being an impact player is to use his tools to become one of the league’s better defensive bigs.

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He's further developed at this point offensively, though, and the Pistons want him to become a well-rounded player. Duren has already shown flashes of making good passing reads. Few defenders can contain him in the paint.

It’s the perfect time to encourage him to be aggressive with his shot. He has the backing of Detroit’s coaching staff.

“I’ve told Jalen to just be aggressive,” Williams said on Tuesday. “I hate using that word, but look for opportunities to score. I watch him every day in player development. I know where he has opportunities to score based on what he’s been working on. He’s such a pass-first guy. I encourage him, like, take that shot or explore. But he’s always, in his mind, just trying to make the right play. To me, shooting is the right play for him, especially when he’s in the scoring area.”

Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him @omarisankofa.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Why Detroit Pistons are pushing Jalen Duren to expand offensive game