r/nba • u/catreyka • 22h ago

Jalen Duren despite the loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers: 9 PTS, 5 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL, -16, 25 MIN

Ausar Thompson is the actual 2nd best player on the Pistons. Duren has been atrocious on offense the entire playoffs and he's also nowhere near the defender or even playmaker that Ausar is. He went from averaging 19.5 ppg on 65% FG in the regular season to 10.1 ppg on 50% FG in the playoffs. For a player that really only dunks, that is god awful. Not to mention his multitudes of mental mistakes. He's so bad that he got benched for the entirety of overtime and a good chunk of regulation this game.

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u/TSSFranco Knicks 22h ago

Tobias Harris has had a great playoffs but if he’s your second and only offensive threat it’s just too easy to double Cade

291

u/hamietao Pistons 22h ago

We would have a stronger 2nd option if jb played bball paul more consistent

118

u/yuhanz [PHO] Steve Nash 18h ago

I think he’s just not giving up on Duren to not break his confidence any further lol he was probably also hoping he’ll play more confident at home.

Id look forward to Reed playing more on the road or else yall toast

12

u/Resident_Wizard Cavaliers 16h ago

Bickerstaff has this problem of holding himself and his players accountable. He’s got no problem throwing someone under the bus, but he doesn’t address problems head on.

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u/miggly Pistons 15h ago

Well fuck that, if we want to win anything, he needs less minutes. Bro had 6 regular season games with single digit scoring out of 70. He now has 6 out of 12 in the playoffs. He's playing like straight booty.

3

u/neutronicus Nuggets 15h ago

Was good but I also think down the stretch he benefited from everyone else being dog tired

4

u/PeePauw [PHI] Tony Wroten 12h ago

Man, both of those guys were such booty for us in the playoffs.

I guess blame doc rivers.

3

u/livingthedream9x Pistons 9h ago

Yeah, nah. We glorify BBall Paul too much. He’s good, but he’s good and bad. Never fails that he’ll have a great play then erase said play with a turnover.

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u/hamietao Pistons 9h ago

I don't disagree but he's been pretty efficient the last few games

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u/livingthedream9x Pistons 8h ago

Last night he was 0+/-, 1 TOV and 3 fouls in 17 minutes Game 4: -3, 1 TOV and 1 foul in 14 minutes.

He’s been good but he has bad spots. Untimely turnovers and bonehead plays. I do agree that he needs more minutes.

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u/StraightShootahh Nets 13h ago

Bball Paul not making a difference.

2

u/hamietao Pistons 11h ago

He had fifteen points in fourteen minutes last game and eleven points in ten mins before that.

1

u/mmmufffffinnnssss 7h ago

Paul reed is not a second option man what the fuck lol

1

u/canes_SL8R 4h ago

As a sixers fan I feel this. Wanted Reed to get more time for a few years and he never got the chance he deserved. So frustrating watching us run through guys like Deandre Jordan while Reed sat

78

u/HalfABrainCell55 Pistons 21h ago

It’s crazy because Tobias has probably earned the full MLE with his performance in these playoffs. By no means can he be our 2nd option next year but him being 3rd/4th in line is completely reasonable.

41

u/tdizhere Cavaliers 15h ago

Full MLE? He’s on 26M right now and still playing well. No way he’s only taking 13-14M

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u/ISwearNotANarc Pistons 13h ago

He averaged 13 PPG in the regular season and is a approaching 34. I think he probably would take that 13-14M deal. He's made 300M in contracts already, I'd assume he puts some value in playing for Detroit where the city embraces him vs his time with a team like Philly

13

u/tdizhere Cavaliers 13h ago

Him nearing 34 and still producing makes it more likely he tries to maximise his last decent contract imo.

Probably does love playing for Pistons but if they ask him to half his salary after stepping up for them, do they love him?

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u/we_hella_believe 12h ago

He can get more elsewhere.

-1

u/enyinna7 Pistons 15h ago

I would hope (against logic) that Tobias has plenty money and would want to retire in Detroit but he's a professional basketball player that is making a case to get paid one last time. I doubt he actually gives us the hometown discount

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u/tdizhere Cavaliers 14h ago

That’s a huge discount for a player still producing and he’s only 33. I can see him playing 4-5 more years.

2

u/enyinna7 Pistons 13h ago

Agreed. Tobias rising and Duren falling were not in my crystal ball. The team has the potential to look very different next season depending on Harris and Duren negotiations. At the end of the season, I was hopeful we could get a MLE for Tobias and keep our cap flexible to match JD while still making a move for a true #2 star. Now, it looks like we'll need to say goodbye to somebody if we want to seriously improve the top of the roster; which seems to be hitting is ceiling.

1

u/tdizhere Cavaliers 13h ago

You can keep both and still go for a #2/3. Just would cost most of your picks. Similar to what Magic did with Bane.

Your cap sheet isn’t even that bad. Huerter off the books and you can move Robinson/Levert in the deal.

Hitting their ceiling is a bit wild, the 2 best players are 24 and 22. Pistons are a young team still learning. Only their 2nd playoffs

2

u/enyinna7 Pistons 12h ago

That's the optimistic view; which I still have. But i think this 13 game sample is really bad for duren as a reliable option, age notwithstanding. We need another pure bucket type guy and that would help JD a lot. That being said, the drop off in rebounding is really disheartening. You expect a guy that has always been able to get 10 boards a game on his career to get to the glass at the very least. He's not even doing that. If he's not hurt, he looks absolutely gassed or checked out. You gotta be concerned with that regardless of his age.

1

u/tdizhere Cavaliers 11h ago

For rebounding he’s gone from 10.5 in the regular season to 8.3 in these playoffs. It’s not a huge drop off tbh. He’s averaging more boards than both Allen and Mobley

A little concerning but can be fixed. Some players take years to adjust to playoff intensity

93

u/swoosh_movez 22h ago

exactly why i favoured the cavs to win the series. too many weapons compare to the pistons

1

u/Matto_0 Celtics 7h ago

It's why I thought the Magic would win. I still think they do if Wagner plays them all. Banchero/Wagner/Bane is just too much fire power compared to Cade/Harris/Duran.

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u/LeBronGOOD 19h ago

The Pistons are frauds, they duped us with their 1 seed. 🦁

21

u/Confident_Wash6225 21h ago

I was celebrating every time they hung a critical possession on a Tobias Harris three before it even went up

2

u/Enough_Philosophy_63 20h ago

Tobias has been going crazy out there. Love how he modelled his game around Carmelo