{"id":666903,"date":"2026-03-19T13:25:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T13:25:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/666903\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T13:25:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T13:25:18","slug":"jalen-duren-puts-the-league-on-notice-in-detroit-pistons-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/666903\/","title":{"rendered":"Jalen Duren Puts The League On Notice In Detroit Pistons’ Win"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the Pistons\u2019 win over the Wizards, Jalen Duren<\/a> put the league on notice and reminded everyone that Detroit has more than one threat. In the absence of Cade Cunningham<\/a>, he absolutely demolished Washington, dropping a season-high 36-point double-double. Duren is more than ready to help usher Detroit into their best postseason in decades.<\/p>\n

Jalen Duren Puts The League On Notice In Detroit Pistons\u2019 Win<\/p>\n

Opportunity For Duren In Cade Cunningham\u2019s Absence<\/p>\n

When it comes to the Detroit Pistons\u2019 squad, the focus is largely on Cunningham. That is, of course, more than fair. Cunningham is the team\u2019s leader and their top player. More than that, he\u2019s one of the top stars in the entire league, not to mention a two-time All-Star. Cunningham is the lynch pin of Detroit\u2019s recent success and plans to lead them to an NBA Championship this year.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what makes his recent health issues such a concern<\/a>. Cunningham left the game against the Wizards on March 17th early with back spasms. He was only on the court for a few minutes, and has already been ruled out for the Washington rematch on March 19th.<\/p>\n

With the Playoffs on the horizon, this is a serious situation. Cunningham will hopefully be able to move past this problem before the postseason. Even more important, it needs to be dealt with now so it doesn\u2019t reappear in the middle of a series against another formidable team like the Celtics. Fortunately for the Pistons, Duren took the opportunity to put the league on notice and lead the team to a dominant win.<\/p>\n

Detroit\u2019s Success This Season Also Belongs to Jalen Duren<\/p>\n

After Cunningham left the floor, Duren stepped up and took control of the game. By the time it was all said and done, he had 36 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, and one block. His shooting was even more impressive. Duren went 13 for 17 from the field and 10 for 11 from the free-throw line. Even better, he didn\u2019t waste a single shot on a bad three-point attempt. No one wants to watch that.<\/p>\n

As impressive as this performance was, it wasn\u2019t new. Duren is averaging a double-double this season. He\u2019s 38th in the league in points per game and sixth in the league in rebounds per game. Duren has had seven double-doubles in March, as well as four in Detroit\u2019s most recent games. Even better, he\u2019s scored in double digits in all but one game this month.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a reason he was a first-time All-Star in 2026<\/a>. This is Duren\u2019s fourth year in the NBA, and he is definitely playing his best basketball to date. The Pistons are going to need those kinds of performances from him if they\u2019re going to make some noise in the postseason.<\/p>\n

\"Mar 17, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) dunks during the first half against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images
\nDuren Has The League On Notice For The Playoffs<\/p>\n

With Cunningham on the bench, Duren stepped up and showed the rest of the league what he\u2019s bringing to the postseason. He\u2019s the starting center of the top team in the Eastern Conference and the second-best player on the team after Cunningham. Like Cunningham, Duren is one of the top players in the entire league at this point.<\/p>\n

The Pistons have a strong all-around team with a respectably deep bench and a dangerous starting five. Some have questioned whether they have enough firepower to get the job done. Duren unquestionably proved that they do, even when Cunningham is on the bench. He\u2019s a dominant player who demands to be taken seriously.<\/p>\n

Duren\u2019s massive performance against the Wizards after Cunningham left the game was a statement. It put the league on notice for the rest of the regular season, the Playoffs, and possibly even the Finals. Much like the Pistons in general, Duren is not to be taken lightly.<\/p>\n

Featured Image: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the Pistons\u2019 win over the Wizards, Jalen Duren put the league on notice and reminded everyone that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":666904,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3773],"tags":[7,909,296,188,3860,912,6,297],"class_list":{"0":"post-666903","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-detroit-pistons","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-cade-cunningham","10":"tag-detroit","11":"tag-detroit-pistons","12":"tag-detroitpistons","13":"tag-jalen-duren","14":"tag-nba","15":"tag-pistons"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116256069773115647","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=666903"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666903\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/666904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=666903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=666903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=666903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}