Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren is three days from the first real checkup on his right hamstring, and on Thursday he was already out on the practice floor with the training staff.
Duren has not played since he strained the hamstring in the second quarter of the Oct. 23 win at Miami. He has appeared in just two games this season, and Detroit is 6-2.
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Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press was at Pistons practice on Thursday. He posted a photo of Duren working off to the side with the trainers.
Hunter Patterson, who covers the Pistons for The Athletic, put the next step on the calendar in his recap of Wednesday’s 112-106 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. “Duren is set to be re-evaluated by the Pistons’ medical staff Sunday,” Patterson wrote. “While they would inevitably be better with him healthy, a silver lining of Duren’s absence is that it’s given more offensive opportunities to players like Robinson.”
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That lines up with what the team said at the start of this. The Pistons announced on Oct. 25 that Duren would be re-evaluated in two weeks, which puts the appointment on Sunday, Nov. 8.
Take the report and the practice work together and Duren could be getting close to a return. The caution is that Sunday is an evaluation, not a clearance to play, and the team has not put a date on him.
It would no doubt help the Pistons to get Duren back into the lineup. In his two appearances this season, he averaged 13.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.0 blocks and 1.0 steals. Duren will need to be a huge part of this basketball team moving forward. Being back out there with the trainers is a good start.
