Jalen Duren must improve as a defender.

Inspired by something u/nerouin posted on the discord.

If Duren isn’t remotely as good of a defender as an average big man, isn’t able to shoot, or can’t playmake at an elite level…I’ll argue we should have just kept Jerami Grant instead of taking him. He has been bad but I HAVE HOPE Duren can be at least average. It’s about effort to me. Adding guys like Ausar and Stew can help a little but at the end of the day he has to grow into a defender for himself career wise or end up just becoming the next Andre Drummond imo. Jalen Duren MUST improve on defense. Period. This isn’t an argument to me but we can discuss. Duren ATLEAST has to give effort on defense. For whatever we think of Cade Ivey and everyone else as pieces, if your big man isn’t a floor stretcher/offensive hub like Sabonis, Jokic, or Sengun, that big man must be at least average on defense. I can’t point to many teams with a poor defensive big man.

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In games where Jalen Duren has at least 2 blocks, Detroit is 7-5 since drafting him. He’s a very elite rebounder. So was Andre Drummond. Andre also was not ever considerably a good or greater defensive big man. Of his draft class, four big men were drafted. Duren is the only center that does not average a block. Mark Williams averages 1, Chet Holmgren with 2.3, Walker Kessler with 2.4 blocks per game. I think Duren has the physical tools to be in their range. I also think for Ivey/Cade and the rest of the team having a big man that can deter shots at the rim remotely is a BIG need.

Maybe it’s the ankles. Yet he is very forceful when he’s on offense going for big dunks, alley oops, and fast breaks. Yet on defense? I’ll make a tape if people need it. Duren can be VERY tentative. Duren could be lost with what scheme Monty is implementing. Going from a heavy switch defense rookie year to a more traditional drop coverage one similar to what Deandre Ayton had to learn in Phoenix might be part of it. I think it’s DEFINITELY effort though. Ivey isn’t good on defense I will not argue that he is. He at least gives effort. I’d argue it’s worse defenders on every team lol. Herro in Miami is a turnstile. Lamelo Ball is not good. Luka has size but we’ve seen teams hunt him and Kyrie. What helps them is having a big that’s remotely going to give effort down low.

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Like I said, his rebounding his elite. Him improving as a free throw shooter is important. He HAS to improve on defense though whether it’s here or not. I know he’s 20 but he’s two years into the league. He wasn’t as good as Dwight Howard was coming from high school. He wasn’t the type of defensive prospect Evan Mobley was out of USC. On CleaningTheGlass, Duren ranks as a 36 percentile blocker. That’s way below the average big man. He’s a 15 percentile when it comes to steals. That’s one of the worst in the league in regards to big men. I think he can improve at least to average in both and that changes this team so much. Along with guys improving with turnovers, their shooting, and adding complimentary pieces. This is NOT an attack. I don’t HATE Duren. But I’m giving a real criticism from what I’ve seen for two years and what the analytics/stats also show. Anybody that subscribes to “empty stats” as an argument, what do you say when someone can’t even get “empty” stats in a specific area?

Using CleaningTheGlass on the third image, these are the big men who compare defensively to Jalen Duren. Guys with below average block percentage and below average steal percentage. Atleast 1700 minutes played. How many of these guys do you consider GOOD defenders? Maybe average? I’d argue KAT next to Gobert is at least average but being next to Sabonis and Vucevic defensively isn’t positive is it? I hope he improves like I said for his sake and ours we NEED better effort at least.

by driphanilton