Detroit Pistons rookie center Jalen Duren will not play on Saturday at home versus the Toronto Raptors due to ankle soreness, the team announced.
Duren has been dealing with a sprained right ankle for much of the past month. He missed five games last month because of the injury and was ruled out of playing in the NBA Rising Stars contest so he could rest ahead of the Pistons’ final stretch of the season.
He played on Thursday in a loss to Orlando, but head coach Dwane Casey said Duren is a bit gimpy and noticed he didn’t have the same lift on a few of his shot attempts. The team will hold him out Saturday, and, potentially, longer to get him back to 100%.
[mm-video type=video id=01gsqnt3166sz7vet7ct playlist_id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01f1jxkahtwnvzepyp image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gsqnt3166sz7vet7ct/01gsqnt3166sz7vet7ct-0a0cf5d030fb4fbcb80f1dbaa04cbdbd.jpg]
Duren recently became the youngest player to produce 30 points and 17 rebounds in a game at 19 years, 84 days. He became just the fourth teenager with at least 30 points and 15 rebounds in a game, joining Paolo Banchero, LeBron James and Moses Malone.
The 13th pick is averaging 8.5 points and 8.7 rebounds on 64.5% shooting from the field. He is second in total rebounds (454) among all rookies and is tied with Walker Kessler for the most double-doubles (12). He has the most rebounds by a Piston through the first 52 games of a career.
The team could opt to hold Duren out for a few games to get him back to full strength. He is already regarded as one of the most athletic big men in the NBA and has a bright future ahead.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 tag=650261564]