Pistons starting center Jalen Duren has not only been a double-double machine, he’s become a deft distributor. Throughout the team’s six-game winning streak entering Monday’s game against the Clippers, Duren had posted at least five assists in every game, the Detroit Free Press’ Omari Sankofa II notes.
“He’s just a dynamic offensive player and it’s interesting because of his size and strength, you don’t typically see the finesse and touch that he can play with with the ball in his hands,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “Normally, guys that are built like that don’t have that type of hand-eye coordination and skill. He’s an elite passer and play-maker. We trust him with the ball in his hands.”
Duren, who is averaging 11.0 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game, is eligible for a rookie scale extension after the season.
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- Coming off his first All-Star selection, Cade Cunningham continues to dazzle. He racked up 38 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks against Atlanta on Sunday. “He reminds me of Luka (Doncic) a lot,” backup Dennis Schröder said, per Keith Langlois of Pistons.com . “I followed his game very closely. It’s impressive how he picks the defense apart. He’s really unselfish. A lot of people don’t do that if they’ve got it going, not shooting. I don’t know how many shots he took in the second half.” Cunningham could also gain a spot on the All-NBA team, which would increase the value of the maximum-salary extension he signed last summer. Rather than a starting salary worth 25% of the cap, he’d earn a salary worth 30% of the cap. That would push his five-year contract from $224MM to approximately $269MM.
- Schröder had his best outing since he was acquired at the trade deadline, with 16 points and seven assists in 22 minutes against the Hawks. “To be able to have another ball-handler out there, who can make plays, who has no fear, takes a lot of pressure off of Cade and everybody else out there,” Bickerstaff said. “But you need a guy who has courage and this is what we envisioned when we made the trade for him, to get him in the (closing) lineup where he can help us finish and he rose to the occasion.” Schröder has given the team another valuable rotation player with Jaden Ivey sidelined by a fractured fibula.
- Detroit’s success has been the biggest surprise of the NBA season. The Pistons are fighting for a top-six spot in the Eastern Conference and Bickerstaff praised the team’s chemistry. “I’ve said it before, you can have talent with lack of chemistry and you’re going to underachieve. You can have less talent with better chemistry and you’re going to overachieve,” he said. “When you become elite and win championships you have talent and chemistry and we’re developing into that. We’ve got young guys with high-level ceilings that we’re still working to get to because we’re not a finished product yet, but our chemistry and the vibes in our building every single day are unique that you don’t see, especially with young teams.”