The Detroit Pistons' terrible losing streak has finally ended. After losing four consecutive games, Detroit got back on its winning streak with a 138–100 loss against the Brooklyn Nets.
The Pistons returned to their winning identity, marked by the impressive performance of their All-Star center, Jalen Duren. The fourth-year big man gave the Nets all he could handle, scoring 26 points on 9-10 shooting from the field. Duren also had a solid bounce-back game defensively, adding two steals and two blocks to her stat line.
Duren's big night is fueling some big encouragement from his team into the Most Improved Player conversation. Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham gave him big support during a postgame conversation with the media after the win against the Nets.
"I think the proof is in the pudding. As far as the leaps he's made, how much teams respect him this year compared to last year. I believe their game plan is different. I think he's making leaps in a lot of different ways," Cunningham explained via Coty M. Davis. "This group, we don't really like to talk about it. We just like to go out and try to show it. If my words mean anything, I think it's obvious."
Duren has the current lead as the betting favorite for the award on FanDuel. He currently averages a career-high 18.6 points per game, an increase of nearly seven points from last season.
Detroit's star center has also been a monster on the glass, ranking in the top ten in rebounds with 10.6 per game. This has helped him make 31 double-doubles this regular season. He is also showing significant growth defensively, individually and as a team defender. Duren is posting the best defensive rating of his career at 107.2. This rating has been a major reason behind the Pistons' current position as the second-highest rated defense in the NBA.
What did JB Bickerstaff say about Jalen Duren?
This successful campaign helped Duran earn his first selection as an NBA All-Star. His growth has also been a major catalyst behind Detroit's rise as the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference. Pistons head coach JB Bickerstaff also took time to advocate for Duren's candidacy for the Most Improved Player award after his game against Brooklyn.
Bickerstaff told the media, "I think it's easy if you watch us play and if you watch us play consistently over the last year and a half or two years. The steps he's taken from the beginning of last year to this year have made him an All-Star and a dominant force on both ends of the floor." "You have to recognize a guy who works so hard and give him credit for the work he did over the summer to get better and understand what he wants to do this year. And I'll say it again, his stats are not hollow. His stats impact winning, too."
With only 18 regular season games left, Duren could end up being in the conversation for the award with a strong finish to the season. Rising stars like Jalen Johnson, Keyontae George, Ryan Rollins and others are making a push but the consistency of Duren and the Pistons gives them a respectable edge at this point.
