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Jalen Duren’s Hamstring Gets Its First Real Checkup
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- Jalen Duren’s Hamstring Gets Its First Real Checkup
The Detroit Pistons have played eight games this season and Jalen Duren has been on the floor for two of them. The 6-2 start has held up anyway, but Wednesday night's 112-106 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers was the kind of game where the missing center shows up. Philadelphia moved to 8-1.
Duren has been dealing with a right hamstring strain, and the next date on the calendar is a checkup, not a clearance. Hunter Patterson of The Athletic reported the latest: "Duren is set to be re-evaluated by the Pistons' medical staff Sunday. While they would inevitably be better with him healthy, a silver lining of Duren's absence is that it's given more offensive opportunities to players like Robinson." Detroit announced on Oct. 25 that Duren would be re-evaluated in two weeks, which ruled him out for at least that long. As NBC Sports noted at the time, that is the day Detroit reassesses him. It is not the day he plays.
Oct 23, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (7) drives to the basket against Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) during the first quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect (Reuters)
Jalen Duren played well in the two games he got
In the two games Duren played for Detroit, both starts, he averaged 13.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.0 block and 1.0 steal in 19.0 minutes per game. He went down in the second quarter of the Oct. 23 win at Miami and has not played since. Duren will need to be Cade Cunningham's wingman up front once he is back, and Sunday's checkup is the first real read on how close that is.
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Paul Reed has carried the center minutes, not a rotation
Paul Reed has started all six games Duren has missed, and he has been more than a placeholder. Reed is averaging 12.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.8 blocks and 1.3 steals in 27.3 minutes a night, scoring at almost exactly the rate Duren was before the hamstring. This has been his job rather than a two-man job: Tolu Smith has appeared in seven games without a start, at 3.9 minutes per game .
The offense moved around the hole
Patterson's silver lining shows up in the team numbers . Cunningham is at 24.0 points and 7.6 assists per game with the ball in his hands more often, and Duncan Robinson is at 19.0 points, the shooter getting the looks a traditional center would have occupied. That is how Detroit got to 6-2 without its starting five intact.
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When Duren does return, it will be worth something that Reed can hold the center spot with him off the floor. But if the Pistons want to beat teams like the 76ers in the regular season and the playoffs, they need Duren healthy. Sunday is the first chance to find out how far away that is.
