John Collins-Jalen Duren fit looms large for Detroit Pistons

The Detroit Pistons have learned a lot about their revamped roster through two preseason games. But with the regular season now less than a week away, major questions about their lineups and chemistry remain unanswered. The main reason? Jalen Duren’s ongoing ramp-up after missing the first few days

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The Detroit Pistons have learned a lot about their revamped roster through two preseason games. But with the regular season now less than a week away, major questions about their lineups and chemistry remain unanswered.

The main reason? Jalen Duren’s ongoing ramp-up after missing the first few days of training camp. The 22-year-old big man has yet to make his debut, but he has been spotted on the sideline during games and at the team’s practices and shootaround since he signed his five-year, $200 million extension on Oct. 3.

The Pistons have been cautious with Duren, since he missed the first three days of training camp. But only two preseason games remain before they begin the season at home on Oct. 20. The goal is still to get Duren on the floor,

perhaps as soon as their Wednesday road game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

“He's looked good,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said on Tuesday. “He's working his way back, you what I mean? The timing of everything, we're just being cautious and making sure we don't put him in a compromising position. He's done everything we've asked him to do. He's been able to pass all the tests that have been in front of him. He's doing a great job of that. He's working his tail off because he wants to be ready, wants to be right. We're looking forward to him being ready for us.”

Much of the Pistons’ offensive improvement this season hinges on the success of John Collins as their new starting power forward. Collins, in turn, has been ironing out his chemistry with Duren behind-the-scenes.

Collins was the team’s highest-profile acquisition this offseason, arriving in a sign-and-trade with the Los Angeles Clippers on a three-year, $51 million contract.

“We’ve been talking about it a little bit but I feel like with our athleticism, our ability to dominate the paint, it’s going to be fun to play with JD,” he said on Monday. “Especially with his vision, I feel like I have some underrated vision, big-to-big vision. The big-to-big game is going to be fun to watch and I’m excited to play with JD in all aspects. I’m always happy to have another good big fella running alongside me.”

Compared to Tobias Harris, Collins’ game shares more overlap with Duren’s. They’re both athletic vertical lob threats and enjoy operating in the paint, but Collins is also more of a threat as a 3-point shooter. He's teased some untapped playmaking in his game as well. For the rest of the lineup to click, Collins and Duren will have to learn to play to each other’s strengths.

“I think what we've seen here in practice, they've got an ability to work well together,” Bickerstaff said. “Both of them are really good interior passers. Both of them have vertical spacing at the rim so they can play those high-low games. Obviously John's ability to space and roll. I think the combination of them works well and then defensively, you add that size and rebounding capabilities and it helps you close out possessions as well.”

Duren’s absence has allowed the coaching staff to prioritize other evaluations – such as Tolu Smith, who has delivered back-to-back promising performances off of the bench ahead of his first full season on a standard NBA contract.

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But the Pistons need to see their opening night starting lineup as well, not just the bench. Cade Cunningham missed the second half of their 109-107 home win over the Phoenix Suns last Monday, and was in street clothes during their road loss to the Washington Wizards Saturday.

The hope is to get all of the starting five – including Collins, Ausar Thompson and Duncan Robinson – on the floor before their Tuesday tip-off against the Boston Celtics.

“There's things that we wanna do, things we wanna line up, we wanna experiment with, so hopefully we get everybody on the floor as soon as possible and then we can start tinkering with some of those things so that we don't have to have it happen for the first time when the regular season starts,” Bickerstaff said. “There are things that we're still looking for.”

Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on X and/or Bluesky.