Detroit Pistons' Jalen Duren to miss at least two weeks with sprained left ankle
The Detroit Pistons just can't avoid the injury bug.
Second-year center Jalen Duren will be re-evaluated in two weeks after spraining his left ankle in the final minutes of Wednesday's loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, the team announced on Thursday. Duren, 20, has already missed seven games this season with ankle issues.
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Duren was visibly in pain after he landed awkwardly on his ankle. He had to be helped off of the floor with 1:58 remaining in the game.
Monty Williams will likely rely on Isaiah Stewart, Marvin Bagley III and James Wiseman to replace Duren's minutes. But they won't be able to bring what Duren does as a rebounder, lob threat and defensive presence. In 14 games, he's averaging 12.6 points, 10.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks.
Not that there's ever a good time for injuries, but it's especially bad news for a Pistons team that has dropped a franchise-record 18-straight games. The team received a boost when Bojan Bogdanovic made his season debut against the Cleveland Cavaliers last Saturday, but are still awaiting Monte Morris, who has yet to make his debut with a right quad strain. He's projected to be re-evaluated toward the end of January.
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But the Pistons did get a small dose of good news on the injury front on Thursday: Joe Harris was upgraded to questionable for Friday's road game against the Orlando Magic. The veteran sharpshooter last played on Nov. 5 and has been dealing with a right shoulder sprain.
Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him @omarisankofa.
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Next up: Magic
Matchup: Pistons (2-19) at Orlando (14-7), NBA In-Season Tournament consolation game.
Tipoff: 7 p.m. Friday; Amway Center, Orlando, Florida.
TV/radio: Bally Sports Detroit; WXYT-FM (97.1).
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons' Jalen Duren to miss 2 weeks with sprained left ankle
