The Detroit Pistons have been without their star center Jalen Duren for the past seven games. They have gone 4-3 in that span. Unfortunately, they will continue to be without the 22-year-old center for at least another two weeks, as he is dealing with a hamstring strain.
The Pistons have played well without Duren, largely in part because of Paul Reed. He has once again stepped up seamlessly into a starting role and has exceeded expectations.
The problem is that Reed can only play so many minutes. He is undersized and can get worn down banging with big men on the interior. Plus, he can be foul-prone, which can limit his minutes.
Detroit's depth behind Reed is highly questionable. JB Bickerstaff clearly doesn't believe in Tolu Smith. Even in Duren's absence, Smith hasn't been in the rotation. If your third-string center isn't getting any minutes when your starting center is sidelined, it suggests that there is a depth issue there.
Pistons can't ignore their obvious center problem
Bickerstaff has been playing John Collins at center when Reed goes to the bench. Collins has been mediocre at best since the start of the season. He makes defensive plays, and he has mostly been fine on that end of the floor. But he has been underwhelming offensively. And it's not like the Pistons have other quality power forwards who can take over at the four when Collins slides up to center.
Last season, the Pistons had Isaiah Stewart. Reed was the third-string center. Going from that to Tolu Smith as the third-stringer is a big downgrade. And last year, Duren was exceptionally healthy, playing 70 games.
This season, that will not be the case. Hamstrings are notoriously tricky, and it's not even guaranteed that Duren will be back immediately once he is re-evaluated in two weeks.
This is an area the Pistons should address before it's too late. Smith is clearly not going to be an option. Why waste a roster spot on him when you can use it on a big man that you can throw out there for at least 10-15 minutes?
The Pistons have plenty of draft capital to make this happen. They could use a couple of second-round picks to upgrade at center. Yves Missi, Clint Capela, Goga Bitadze, Jericho Sims, and Jay Huff are some names that come to mind who may be available on the trade market. If the Pistons don't make a move, they may rack up too many costly losses in Duren's absence that could affect their playoff seeding.
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