Jalen Duren fumbling bag hard with pathetic start to Magic series that has Pistons fans baffled

On Saturday afternoon, the Detroit Pistons fell behind 2-1 in their first round playoff series against the Orlando Magic with a tough 113-105 loss in Game 3. The Pistons trailed this one for almost the entirety of the game, and although they did rally late to take a one-point lead in the fourth quarter, Orlando took over down the stretch, closing out the contest.

Pistons big man Jalen Duren has now struggled mightily in all three games of this series, scoring just eight points on 3-10 from the field in the game on Saturday, a stat made even more brutal by the fact that virtually all of his shot attempts come from around the basket.

Duren is in line to sign an extension with the team this summer, but fans on X, formerly Twitter, are now wondering how much money the big man might have cost himself with his performance against Orlando thus far.

“It’s hard to put into words how much money Jalen Duren must be costing himself in this series. This is where the real money is made. Or in this case, where money is lost,” wrote one fan.

Another fan broke down how much Duren’s game has diminished when compared to the regular season.

“…He wasn’t just a lob threat and play finisher. For 25 consecutive games, he was self creating on higher volume and scoring at an absurdly efficient level. The fact that not only is he not able to self create *at all*, but he also losing the rebounding battle to WCJ 17-9, it’s just…” they wrote.

Indeed, Duren has been thoroughly outplayed by Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. in this series, and if he doesn’t turn things around soon, the Pistons might become the rare first seed to go home in the opening round of the playoffs.

Game 4 is set for Monday evening.

The post Jalen Duren fumbling bag hard with pathetic start to Magic series that has Pistons fans baffled appeared first on ClutchPoints.