How Pistons Center Jalen Duren Is Preparing To Bounce Back in Game 2 Against Magic

The Pistons were completely unrecognizable in Game 1.

Jalen Duren only shot the ball four times from the field. Daniss Jenkins missed five threes and three free throws. Cade Cunningham shot the ball 27 times from the field and still shot 11 free throws as well. He was a one-man wrecking crew against Orlando's tough defensive efforts. Tobias Harris scored 17 points but missed 10 shots from the field with five of them being threes. Detroit was outscored inside the paint by 20 massive points after leading the regular season in points in the paint per game.

Everything that kept Detroit as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern conference all season was cut off at every turn. Duren scored just eight points and missed two of his four free throws in Game 1. He also turned the ball over three times. With a contract extension looming in the distance for the Pistons center, his performance for the rest of this series could earn or lose him more money.

Jalen Duren is preparing for Orlando's defense

Duren spoke to media during practice Tuesday afternoon and explained what Orlando did to make things difficult for him offensively.

"Yeah I think they just had a good gameplan, packed the paint, had a lot of bodies in the paint. I think anytime I got catches deep they just collapsed on me."
Jalen Duren

Orlando is a strong and tall team already. The Detroit Pistons as a team shot 31.3% from three-point range, which was good for No. 25 in the NBA. If Orlando is going to continue packing the paint, Detroit needs to expect to be open from deep and they have to be ready to seize those opportunities. Look for Duncan Robinson and Kevin Huerter to shoot much more in Game 2.

Duren practiced how to manage being swarmed before tonight's Game 2. He practiced having multiple bodies trapping him with the ball in his hands. Duren is going to learn how to improve his decision-making throughout this series.

"I just kind of wanted to replicate how they pack the paint, how they guard and kind of try to get some reps up with three guys around me...There were times where I caught myself one-on-one and I've seen those moments and I'm going to keep watching those moments and see how many more opportunities I can get, but yeah for the most part they were just collapsing from anywhere."
Jalen Duren

It's likely Orlando is going to continue doing everything they can to limit those one-on-one opportunities for Duren until Detroit proves they can shoot a lot of threes efficiently. Duren's passing and shot selection are going to be two important facets of his game that fans should watch out for in Game 2. How Duren manages being double and tripled teamed deep into the paint is going to be a key factor to Detroit's success in Game 2.

Watch the Detroit Pistons try to even up the series against the Orlando Magic on ESPN at 7:00 p.m. The Pistons can end an 11 consecutive home game losing streak if they can secure a victory inside Little Caesars Arena tonight.

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