Jalen Duren will end being the ultimate what does he make guy.
He has zero range on offense. 68% of his FGA’s are inside of 3 feet. 99.94% of his FGA’s are within 10 feet. The tip ins on offensive rebounds are obviously all his. But any other point he scores is due to Cade or someone else setting him up.
He is one of the best lob catchers in the league. Has amazingly soft hands, great hand-eye coordination, and has a lot of range when catching a lob. That has a lot of value, especially to #2 and keeping #2 happy is important.
On defense I think his post play and drop coverage have improved a bit. I bet his rim protection stats are also better. But in space on the perimeter, he is one of the worst big men defenders in the league. This will be even more important come playoff time. Big men that cannot defend in space get exposed and benched in the playoffs.
To start the year, he still had some effort issues. I think since around the Holidays his effort level has been fantastic. He needs to get smarter about using his fouls. Bigs need to use their fouls around the rim to prevent and 1’s. Stop picking up dumb fouls 70 feet from the basket or setting a stupid moving screen.
It would be great to make the playoffs this year so we can see how he handles playoff basketball.