Jalen Duren Will Be Re-Evaluated in Two Weeks, and Detroit's Hole Is Behind Paul Reed's Plus-16

Photo: NBA.com. Official Jalen Duren headshot, Detroit Pistons.

Jalen Duren drove at Giannis Antetokounmpo with 6:45 left in the first half in Miami on Friday, grabbed at the back of his right leg and walked straight to the locker room, per the Detroit Free Press. On Sunday morning the Pistons said the All-NBA center has a right hamstring strain and will be re-evaluated in two weeks.

That puts at least six games on the schedule before the re-evaluation, starting Sunday night in Philadelphia, and Paul Reed is plus-16 in his 43 minutes so far, so the starting spot is the smaller worry. The real question is who plays center when Reed sits.

What Detroit loses

Duren is the player Detroit paid to keep. He signed a five-year, $200 million fully guaranteed deal on Oct. 1, about 90 minutes before his qualifying-offer deadline, after averaging 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds on 65 percent shooting last season and making the All-NBA third team, per Hoops Rumors.

The opener showed why. Against Boston on Oct. 20 he scored 22 on 8-of-13 with 6-of-7 free throws and nine rebounds in 28 minutes, per the NBA.com box score. Detroit had 44 points in the paint and 24 second-chance points that night, and Boston had 34 and 16.

Friday was over almost before it started. He left with four points, six rebounds and three assists in 10 minutes and 7 seconds, per the official box. The team first called it a thigh injury before Saturday's report named the hamstring, according to Heavy and the NBA injury report.

Reed has already done the job

Reed's two games are the strongest case that Detroit's starting lineup will hold.

Against Boston he played 16:42 off the bench and was plus-12 in a game Detroit won by eight. In Miami he took Duren's minutes and played 26:16, scoring 19 on 8-of-11 with 2-of-2 from three, 11 rebounds and three assists, per the official scorer's report. Detroit led wire to wire and won by 17, per the AP recap on ESPN.

Add the two box scores and Reed is 10-of-14 from the field with 25 points, 17 rebounds and a plus-16 in about 43 minutes. Duren is plus-11 in 38 minutes. Those are Dyme totals from two NBA.com box scores, which is a tiny sample, but they point the same way.

The Free Press expects Reed to start while Duren is out. Reed has played this role before. In last spring's playoffs he often took Duren's minutes as Cleveland ended Detroit's run in the second round, per ESPN reporting summarized by Hoops Rumors.

The minutes behind him

The harder part is what comes after Reed's first stint. Before Friday, Detroit's center rotation was Duren and Reed and almost nothing else.

Tolu Smith did not play against Boston. In Miami he played 1:56 and was minus-3, per the box. Ugonna Onyenso was inactive on a two-way deal both nights. The Free Press has Smith as Reed's backup now.

Friday showed what the gap looks like. Duren, Reed and Smith combined for 38 minutes and 19 seconds in Miami, which leaves at least 9:41 with none of them on the floor, by The Dyme's math from the box. John Collins started at forward and scored 23 with five threes.

Miami scored 46 points in the paint to Detroit's 42 and had 23 second-chance points to Detroit's 17 on Friday, per the NBA.com box score. The Pistons won anyway because they shot 18-of-38 from three.

Six games, two of them against Philadelphia

The ESPN schedule shows what Reed is starting into. Detroit plays at Philadelphia on Sunday, at New York on Tuesday and at home against Charlotte on Wednesday, a back-to-back. Then come Brooklyn on Oct. 30, Charlotte again on Nov. 2 and Philadelphia at home on Nov. 4. The Lakers visit on Nov. 8, the same day the two-week window closes.

The Pistons could also be short on the wing. Ausar Thompson is questionable for Sunday with a right ankle sprain, per the Free Press injury report. If he sits too, Detroit loses its two best rebounders from the opener at once. Thompson had 11 boards against Boston and Duren had nine.

What to watch Sunday

The first box score in Philadelphia will answer most of this. Look at Reed's minutes against Smith's. Look for any time Collins logs at center. Watch whether Detroit's second-chance edge, plus-8 against Boston, survives without its two best rebounders.

A strain re-evaluated in two weeks is not a promised return.

Sources

• Marc Stein on X. Oct. 25, 2026. The Pistons say Duren will be sidelined at least two weeks with a right hamstring strain.
• Omari Sankofa II, Detroit Free Press, on X. Oct. 25, 2026. Re-evaluated in two weeks.
• Michael Scotto on X. Oct. 25, 2026. Team says right hamstring strain, re-evaluated in two weeks.
• Yahoo Sports on X. Oct. 25, 2026. The team announced the two-week re-evaluation.
• Detroit Free Press: Duren injury rules him out against the 76ers. Oct. 24, 2026. Injury moment at 6:45 of the second quarter; Reed expected to start, Smith backup.
• Detroit Free Press: Pistons injury report vs. 76ers. Oct. 25, 2026. Ausar Thompson questionable, right ankle sprain.
• Heavy: Pistons announce Duren injury news. Oct. 24, 2026. Thigh listing before the hamstring diagnosis.
• NBA.com box score, Pistons 128, Heat 111 (Oct. 23, 2026) and official scorer's report. Points in the paint (46-42) and second-chance points (23-17).
• AP recap via ESPN: Pistons roll past Heat 128-111. Detroit led wire to wire.
• NBA.com box score, Pistons 121, Celtics 113 (Oct. 20, 2026) and official scorer's report.
• ESPN Pistons schedule.
• Hoops Rumors: Duren re-signs on a five-year deal. Oct. 1, 2026.
• Hoops Rumors: Duren to miss start of camp. Sep. 28, 2026. Last season's line, All-NBA third team, playoff minutes for Reed.
• The Dyme: Jalen Duren Accepts Pistons' $200 Million Deal. Oct. 1, 2026.

The Dyme added Reed's and Duren's two-game totals and plus-minus, and the minutes without Duren, Reed or Smith in Miami, from the NBA.com box scores.