DETROIT -- Monday night was a mixed bag of highs and lows for the Detroit Pistons.
Despite losing to the Milwaukee Bucks on a night where the franchise honored of its greatest big men, the late Bob Lanier, Pistons center Jalen Duren was one of the lone bright spots.
In only his second game back in the lineup after missing five games due to ankle soreness, Duren finished with a career-high 23 points, while also chipping in 15 rebounds. It was an admirable performance after drawing two tough back-to-back assignments fresh off of an injury. In limited action (18 minutes) during the Pistons vs. the Chicago Bulls game in Paris, France, Duren was matched up against Nikola Vucevic. He finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
On Monday vs. the Bucks, he drew the tough assignment of dealing with Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez.
“He had a good night after being off so long,” Pistons coach Dwane Casey said. “This is only probably the third day. He had three quarters of a practice yesterday because of his ankle. So, I’m really happy with his offensive production.”
Although Casey was delighted by Duren’s performance, he also mentioned where’s there’s room for growth, specifically regarding his defense. He outlined that Duren, 19, has to be better as a shot blocker, rim protector, challenging shots, and taking charges. Antetokounmpo and Lopez were a problem for the Pistons in the post throughout the evening. Antetokounmpo scored 29 points, shooting 11-for-17 from the floor while adding 12 rebounds. Lopez had 21 points. Both of the Bucks big men gave the Pistons’ defense trouble in the post and 15-feet from the rim.
Although Casey has constructive criticism on where Duren needs improvement, he’s aware that his starting center and his teammate, Jaden Ivey are both rookies who still need time to grow and develop their games.
“We have to give them some grace and keep teaching them and coaching them up,” Casey said.
Along with earning his 10th double-double -- which leads all NBA rookies --, Duren etched his name into significant conversation among the best rookie seasons by a Detroit Piston. His double-double vs. the Bucks placed him in a three-way tie with teammate Cade Cunningham and Pistons’ legend Grant Hill for the second-most by a Piston in their rookie season.
Ex-Detroit Piston center Greg Monroe holds the team record with 21.
With 33 games left in the season, Duren has the opportunity to surpass Monroe’s mark, barring injury. This season, Duren is averaging 8.1 points and NBA rookie-leading 8.8 rebounds per game.