Jalen Duren missed his second straight preseason game on Saturday, Oct. 10, when the Detroit Pistons took on the Washington Wizards on the road. Joining him on the bench in street clothes was superstar Cade Cunningham, who played in the first half of their opener against the Phoenix Suns on Monday.
The big has yet to make his preseason debut after missing the early portion of training camp, before signing a five-year deal worth $200 million last Thursday. The Pistons intend for him to play in preseason eventually, and his next opportunity will be their road game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday (8 p.m., WMYD-TV).
“The plan is, for sure,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said earlier this week. “It’s just one of those things that we’ll always be cautious of is how he’s feeling, and going from a summer workout to an NBA game regardless of if it’s a preseason game, you want to be aware of his body and the work that he’s putting in and making sure that we’re safe and that he’s feeling OK. The plan is definitely for him to play in preseason.”
Paul Reed started in place of Duren again, and Daniss Jenkins started for Cunningham. Their absences was set to open minutes for big Tolu Smith and rookie Ebuka Okorie, who hit the game-winning layup against the Suns.
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Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on X and/or Bluesky.
Next up: Timberwolves
Matchup: Pistons (1-0 entering Saturday’s late game) at Minnesota (1-1); exhibition.
Tipoff: 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14; Target Center, Minneapolis.
TV/radio: WMYD-TV (Ch. 20); WXYT-FM (97.1).
Streaming: DaZN Detroit.
Regular-season opener: vs. Celtics; 3 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20; NBC.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jalen Duren, Cade Cunningham miss Detroit Pistons 2nd preseason game