The Detroit Pistons have been without their All-Star center Jalen Duren for the past two weeks. After Duren suffered a right hamstring strain in the second game of the season against the Miami Heat, the Pistons played their last six games without the 22-year-old big man.
The day after Duren suffered the injury in Miami, the Pistons announced that he was going to be re-evaluated in two weeks. Pistons fans were hoping that he would be cleared to play in the upcoming week. Unfortunately, that will not be the case.
According to Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press, the Pistons announced that Duren will be re-evaluated again in two weeks, bringing his absence to a month in total.
Pistons injury update: Jalen Duren to miss at least two more weeks
The good news is that Duren has been cleared to begin on-court activity. He will practice with the team, but he will miss at least seven more games.
Two weeks from today brings us to November 22nd. Detroit will play the Lakers, Wizards twice, Heat, Spurs, Pelicans, and the Raptors between now and then. It's not a murderer's row of opponents, so the Pistons should feel good about their chances of winning without Duren.
Without Duren, the Pistons went 4-2. Paul Reed has been playing very well in his absence. The offense is still a work in progress, but the defense is still elite. In fact, the Pistons currently have the best defensive rating in the league. That shouldn't change in Duren's absence.
But this is still a disappointing development, both for the Pistons and for Duren. Losing Duren puts more offensive burden on Cade Cunningham. It also means more minutes for Paul Reed and John Collins, which could, in turn, tax them in the long run.
For Duren, this hurts his end-of-season award chances. Following a healthy campaign in which he played 70 games, Duren became an All-Star and made the All-NBA third team.
This season, before November ends, Duren will have missed 13 games, more than he did all of last season. This doesn't disqualify him from making All-NBA, as the threshold is 65 games, but it will make things very difficult for him.
Good thing he didn't bet on himself and accept his qualifying offer. The five-year, $200 million contract he signed this offseason looks like a very smart decision on his part now.
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