JB Bickerstaff shares intriguing Jalen Duren take amid Game 7 hype

The Detroit Pistons have once again forced a Game 7, coming back from down 3-2 and winning Game 6 on the road against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night.

JB Bickerstaff has had his team ready to play this season, but especially so in potential elimination games. That’s expected to be the case on Sunday night, when the Pistons return home for Game 7 against Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, and Co.

The Pistons saw Jalen Duren find his groove after enormous struggles thus far this postseason, finishing Game 6 with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocked shots in 27 minutes of play. Detroit found a good rhythm with Duren and backup center Paul Reed, who contributed 17 points, six rebounds, and one blocked shot in 16 minutes of play off the bench.

Bickerstaff believes something was found on those minutes and that staggering his two big men could yield more fruitful results for his Pistons, who are looking to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs.

“I think JD just found something,” Bickerstaff said. “I’m not sure if it was a timing of those guys minutes. I think we were able to find more space for him to operate also. A lot of times when they have both of those bigs out there, the floor gets really really crowded and it gets mostly crowded for him, so us being able to have him out there with a little bit more space opened up the game for him. I think he found something that he liked and that he can replicate.”

J.B. Bickerstaff on if playing all of Jalen Duren, Isaiah Stewart, and Paul Reed in Game 6 opened things up for Jalen Duren:

“JD just found something.” pic.twitter.com/OD0CoWfMdC

— Aaron Johnson (@AJohnsonNBA) May 17, 2026

In his first 12 games this postseason, Jalen Duren had been averaging 10.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.0 block per game while shooting 50 percent from the field.

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