Expect Jalen Duren’s Role to Look Very Different for Pistons in Game 2

Even after the Detroit Pistons were stunned in Game 1 by the Orlando Magic, the reaction turned from shock to confidence.

"We're sick about losing this one," Cade Cunningham said. "But it's a long series. There's no confidence drop from us."

Cunningham finished with a playoff career-high 39 points, to go with five rebounds and four assists. But his lack of a co-star was glaring.

That man was Jalen Duren, who averaged 19.5 points this season - a 7.7-point increase from last year – but struggled to get going in Game 1.

Duren can regroup, but he needs to step up

Duren was lost on Sunday. He only took four shots and scored a meagre eight points. In a playoff series, for a player of his calibre and his reputation – that’s not good enough.

The Magic had a defensive plan on Duren, and it worked.

Call it nerves, inexperience, or - more likely - a mix of both. Whatever the cause, it can’t happen again.

Not if he’s aiming to secure a max extension worth up to five years and roughly $239 million. Not if Detroit expects to get past Orlando. Both feel like reasonable assumptions.

There’s still time to reshape the story. But if Duren doesn’t, it will show in his next deal when he hits restricted free agency this summer.

The Pistons’ big man is arguably their second-best player, yet he looked nothing like it. He was invisible - out of sync, hesitant, even passive.

Frustrated, too.

And understandably so, with Orlando crowding him and holding him to just four shot attempts.

Credit the Magic for the strategy, but this wasn’t only about their defense. Duren lacked assertiveness, finishing with eight points, seven rebounds (just one offensive), and three turnovers.

He didn’t seize opportunities when they came, and when he did, he attacked without conviction.

There’s a difference between regular-season money and postseason money. Right now, Duren still has to prove he’s worth the latter.

The challenge is not letting it consume him, even if that’s easier said than done. Fortunately, Duren is known for his work ethic and maturity. No one will feel this performance more than he does. He’ll take it personally, study the film, and put in the work to figure out how to respond.

He may have playoff experience, but this is new territory - this role, these expectations - as a second option and key offensive hub.

It’s unreasonable to expect him to already be the player he might become in a few years. But it’s entirely fair to expect him to be the player he was just last week.

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