New All-Star? The 22-year-old No. 1 center in the Eastern Conference!

Looking at the Pistons' winning streak, it's hard not to be attracted to one person:

Jalen Duren, who is 208cm tall and has a wingspan of 226cm.

So far this season, Duren's personal statistics are:

averaging 20.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game, shooting 67.5% from the field and 76.6% from the free throw line.

For a young center who has just turned 22 years old, with an average of 20+10 double-doubles per game, it is no exaggeration to say that he is moving towards the most dominant monster in the penalty area in the East. He might even become an unexpected All-Star candidate this season.

Refer to Rockets Shen Jing, who successfully entered the All-Star ranks after averaging 19.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game last season; if the Pistons can maintain a stable record among the top four in the Eastern Conference this season, Duren's probability of being selected is still quite high. Especially considering that the Pistons were relatively soft in the first half of the season, as long as he is healthy, Duren will be the core of the penalty area at the All-Star level.

Long before entering the NBA, Duren has been regarded as the new generation of Howard since high school.

Comparatively, both of them have almost abnormal physical talents; but in essence, the difference between the two is quite obvious. When Howard was young, his lateral speed and defensive frame protection judgment were at the top level in the league, while Duren's current defense is not up to the top echelon.

The reason why he is favored mainly lies in his offense. Duren at the same time was still much more delicate than Howard. Judging from the game process, Duren's offensive ceiling is still much higher at the same age in terms of left-hand finishing, footwork coordination, and close-to-the-frame throw.

If you want to find a more appropriate template, it is more like Stoudemire back then, or even looking at an earlier era, with beastly physical talent + high-explosive dunks + penalty area kills, and also has a bit of Rain Man Kemp's attributes.

From the perspective of offensive details, the most surprising thing about this season is:

Duren's offensive IQ has increased significantly.

Referring to last season, he often ran out of position and stuck in the wrong spot. However, under Bickerstaff's training this season, his offensive side has matured significantly. His forward and reverse running, and timing of cover positions have all improved significantly compared to his rookie stage. Especially with the brain of Cunningham and the attraction of shooters such as Dun Luo on the periphery, Duren has more room for downsizing and can finish more stably.

In this offensive mode, Duren can be called the end point of the pick-and-roll offense of the strongest echelon in the current league; and compared with other receiving big men, Duren's biggest advantage lies in his excellent receiving touch.

Even if the pass is inaccurate and the angle is tricky, Duren can still get these half-assed passes, which also makes the Pistons' offensive fault tolerance rate extremely high. As long as he throws the ball towards the penalty area, Duren can catch the ball and finish the score. This is talent and this is tactical value.

In addition to pick-and-roll support, as a 22-year-old center, Duren has begun to have the potential to attack with the ball on his own; especially in the extremely frequent reverse pick-and-roll this season, the Pistons are now beginning to dare to let him dribble.

There is one offensive stat in particular that deserves special attention:

Duren's dunk ratio has dropped significantly this season, but his offensive efficiency has increased significantly.

Looking from this aspect alone, the main reason is that Duren's new offensive methods this season are comprehensive enough. We have seen him many times using some close-to-the-frame throws, mid-range moves after facing the frame, and the stability of free throws has also been greatly improved. Thanks to the maturity of these offensive skills, his scoring threat is no longer limited to the paint area.

Even judging from the improvement trend in shooting and free throws, there may be opportunities to develop three-point capabilities in the future.

After the improvement of offensive and defensive capabilities, Duren's biggest issue at present is mainly foul control.

And this link has also improved significantly this season. From the high-end data, the fouls committed every 36 minutes and every 100 possessions are declining. Even if he is not a top defender who can infinitely switch to the perimeter, as long as he can stably guard the penalty area, it is already worth the Pistons' expectations.

At least judging from this season's games, Duren is basically difficult to stop when facing teams with weak penalty area strength such as the Magic, Hawks, Pacers, and Wizards.

Judging from the average data per game, the last Piston to score 20+10 in a single season was Bob Lanier nearly 50 years ago.

As for whether Duren can become the second player, from the perspective of play style, this season's free throws have doubled, the pie is more stable, and the ball-holding ability and shooting value are also gradually developed. According to the current trend, as long as he stays healthy and reaches the 20+10 threshold, Duren is fully qualified to impact.

But there are also problems with such growth:

For the team, if Duren continues to evolve,

If the Pistons want to keep him, they may need to prepare a maximum salary contract.