Positive Jalen Duren Pistons injury update comes with buzzkill

With the Detroit Pistons dealing with injury concerns as center Jalen Duren is dealing with a hamstring issue, the latest update comes with good and bad news. As it was understood that Duren’s injury with the Pistons would force him out for weeks, the team would make an announcement showing his progress.

According to ClutchPoints’ NBA insider Brett Siegel, Detroit would announce that Duren is making progress when it comes to his rehab for his hamstring injury and has “begun on-court activities.” However, the team would make sure to say that his “status will be updated again in two weeks.”

“Jalen Duren is making progress in his rehab for a right hamstring strain and has begun on-court activities,” Siegel wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “His status will be updated again in two weeks.”

Duren suffered the injury in the Pistons’ 128-111 win over the Miami Heat on Oct. 23 in the second quarter as he attempted a spin move on Giannis Antetokounmpo. The pain was immediate, as he grabbed his leg during the play, went to the locker room, and didn’t return to the contest.

More on the injury to Pistons’ Jalen Duren

According to Coty M. Davis of The Detroit News, the Pistons center did an on-court workout on Thursday after the team’s practice, as he was doing dribbling drills “while catching a tennis ball with his left.” Also working with Detroit’s player development staff and taking some shots, and while he’s critical to the team’s success, the team is 6-2 ahead of Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Speaking earlier in the week, Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff would applaud how “the guys have stepped up,” such as big men Peyton Reed, John Collins, and Tolu Smith, though it’s obvious that the team misses Duren, according to The Athletic.

Only playing two games this season for Detroit, Duren looks to replicate or exceed what he produced last season, averaging 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game while shooting 65 percent from the field. At any rate, it remains to be seen when Duren returns to the court in game action with the Pistons.