It’s extremely difficult to manufacture a top-flight defense with black holes at the big positions. Bigs play such a key role in defensive efficiency because they are in the paint, swaying how well teams fare there. You might call this a 3-point era, but paint touches and shots remain the foundation of NBA offenses. Those lead to the galore of kickout 3s we see on a night-to-night basis. Bigs are also involved in a ton of pick-and-rolls. If your big can’t execute any of the PnR defensive coverages, be prepared to get torched in today’s NBA.

Jalen Duren isn’t the best defender on a loaded Detroit Pistons roster. That said, you can throw his name in the hat for one of the most important though. He may or may not be the lone big defender in certain lineups he plays in. Regardless of the lineup, Duren is still responsible for the paint in his minutes, even if those are shared with Isaiah Stewart.

Duren’s activity and ability to be in the correct spots have made him a plus-defender this season. That’s a step above his earlier years, which saw him as a semi-liability on the gritty side of the floor. Duren’s uptick in defensive awareness and activity should send shivers throughout the league when you combine those defensive traits with his offensive leap.

Duren is doing his job, aiding the cream of the crop defenders around him. He’s fitting into an elite defensive ecosystem. His activity on ball screens puts the team in a positive position. Duren’s process as a communicator jumps through the screen. His constant finger-wagging and yelling indicate he’s alert and contributing to the team’s defensive culture.

This defensive leap hasn’t been without lapses, but that’s what comes with growth. JB Bickerstaff should be commended for putting Duren in positions to thrive on defense. He’s no longer required to be the anchor, but rather a key cog in a thriving system.

The Monty Williams era is no fun to reference, but Duren was thrown to the wolves in that portion of his career. Detroit didn’t have elite on-ball defenders or high-IQ help defenders, and it was a challenge for Duren to make up for everybody like he was prime Ben Wallace.

Don’t get me wrong, the effort and attention to detail were lacking, too, but he won’t be the type of center that can anchor a defense solo.

Duren isn’t the type of big man who can execute 2-on-1 scenarios with no help from perimeter or backside defenders. The best of the best, like Stew, do that. Elite individual defense doesn’t have a “just play harder” button that we think is so easily pushed.

Some of Duren’s warts have been covered up with elite elite Pistons point-of-attack defenders and a revolving door of rotating help. JBB puts Duren in position to thrive; all Duren has to do is be active, engaged, and aware of his assignment.

Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart are a dynamic duo under JB Bickerstaff

Let’s stick with the JBB front; Duren isn’t employed on an island this season. Isaiah Stewart and Duren split time at the rim, sharing the court more than ever under Bickerstaff. That pairing is +15.1 on the floor together in 120 minutes. Kudos to Bickerstaff for getting the most out of this duo, which has been a negative 2-man unit every year of their careers until now.

Duren and Stew work in harmony. They effortlessly pre-switch big to big matchups. If a sniper gets a step on Duren and heads to the perimeter, he and Stew switch with no hesitation if that’s feasible. They are on the same page, and that’s a sign of good coaching.

Teams may elect to get Stew away from the rim to attack Duren, but that hasn’t been fruitful for opponents. Per PBP stats, on 77 rim attempts, players are only shooting 57% with Duren at the basket. They only shoot 46% (79 attempts) with Stew down there, but Duren’s presence is good enough to alter some shots. He doesn’t need to be Stew-level protecting the rim; he’s fitting in and contributing on this elite defense.

Not only is Duren contributing, but in his minutes without Stew, Detroit has a 108.1 defensive rating. That’s better than those two sharing the court wreaking havoc together. Stew’s presence allows Duren to be a key cog rather than the whole defense, but Duren is more than holding up his end of the bargain.

Rim protecting and activity on the ball

Duren’s out-of-the-box athleticism has always popped on film. Big-time sky scraper rejections have always been in Duren’s arsenal, dating back to his season at Memphis University. When Duren is locked in and engaged, an opponent’s shot could easily end up in the fifth row if they’re ballsy enough to go through with their challenge at the cup.

Duren’s 1.8 block percentage is nothing to write home about, but he’s also fouling a bit less this year, which could indicate he’s picking and choosing when to be an aggressive shot blocker or not. The more awareness, the better.

Beyond the highlight rejections, Duren’s activity coming up to the level in ball screens enables elite perimeter defenders to have an easier task.

When Duren is up on the ball, active and in a stance ready to recover, offensive players tend to second-guess what decision to make with Duren briefly popping out. Even the slightest bit of hesitation is enough for premier perimeter defenders to recover on screens.

Keyonte George is a turbo boost guard who’s broken out a bit, averaging 23 points and seven assists. It’s no easy task staying in front of him.

In this clip, Kevin Love sets an early-offense screen, leaving Duren on George for a split second because Detroit’s bigs are getting up to the level until the perimeter defender can recover. Duren plays the level perfectly, and George didn’t attempt a blow-by on him. That brief seed of doubt Duren plants in George’s mind is enough for the hounding Ron Holland to get back to his matchup.

In the same game, Duren puts Svi Mykhailuik in the same bind, forcing him into a delayed decision. Duren’s show and recover stopped the shooter in his path and gave Stew enough time to rotate and erase a layup attempt, which led to a Duren jam. Every great defensive possession depends on everyone doing their job. Duren continues to execute.

When Duren’s matchup isn’t setting ball screens, he’s displayed the ability to be a pest on hubs. Big men initiating offense will feel Duren’s cartoonish muscles when he presses up on them, attempting to force an unwanted decision.

Duren presses up on Luka Garza (stretch big), and when Garza frantically gets the ball to Boston’s best player, Jaylen Brown. Duren was able to switch and get a stop on a tough Brown middy attempt. This second effort is in the cards for Duren when he’s engaged.

Executing versus stretch bigs is always a conversation around Duren. He doesn’t allow Bobby Portis (47%/3.3 3PA) to breathe here. Duren smothers him with active hands and forearm-to-back ball pressure. Duren then hedges a ball screen, recovers to the rim, and deters Ryan Rollins from shooting a layup. The rest of the possession is advantage Pistons due to the activity and defensive awareness of Jalen Duren.

Duren’s overall levels of engagement, activity, and awareness are the three staples that can turn Duren into a great team defender or keep him here at the “plus-defender” tier of defenders.

Jalen Duren is still a growing defender

Duren isn’t perfect on that end. Some of the lapses include poor closeouts and late-to-the-party transition defense. I like to think some of the transition stuff is fatigue or Duren sticking with his trailing man up the floor instead of sprinting all the way back. Some of the closeouts can be explained by an eagerness to prevent open looks or Duren running shooters off the line.

Neither flaw is a reflection of a lack of buy-in, which is important. There’s film of Duren closing out with his off hand up and stutter stepping feet ready to glide left or right to take away driving angles. There’s film of Duren sprinting back in transition, disarming offenses at the rim. If he can ramp up to those levels even more, he’ll become a better defender.

His occasional lagging behind hasn’t hurt Detroit in transition. Per Cleaning the Glass, opponents score less in transition when Duren is on the floor and on fast break possessions at a negative rate. That wasn’t the case last year.

Another defensive jump from Duren can be seen in his isolation metrics. Detroit as a whole is holding teams to 0.83 points per possession (PPP) in isolation, and Duren individually is even sturdier. Duren is restricting opponents to 0.42 PPP in the little he’s been targeted. He was at 1.06 PPP last year. That’s a major jump in holding his own in space.

While those metrics include the possessions Duren stonewalls bigs 1-on-1, he isn’t an elite switcher. Duren has shown flashes of sliding his feet on the perimeter, but possessions like Browns late-game blow-by in the Celtics game are still a thing. Now, Jaylen Brown is one of the best 1-on-1 guys in our game, so losing a possession to him isn’t cause for doomsday, but you can clearly see the difference in switch ability when Stew and Duren share the floor.

Again, Duren doesn’t need to be at that level to be a good defender. He’s been a major part of the fourth-ranked defense (garbage time filtered out).

Not only is he not sinking the ship, but Duren is the consigliere to the Pistons boss rim protector. Duren is an advisor to all the elite Pistons perimeter defenders, directing their navigation with the effort he shows while up on the level. Duren isn’t the standout defender for Detroit, but his newfound engagement and activity on that end make them a team nobody is amped up to play.

* All stats as of 12/01/2025