Pistons Notes: Duren, Cunningham, Game 4, Magic Johnson, Huerter

All-Star center Jalen Duren, a restricted free agent after the season, is taking a lot of heat for his playoff performances against the Magic. He’s averaging 9.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.0 blocks and 2.7 turnovers per game as the Pistons head into Game 4 down 2-1 in the series. Duren has been badly outplayed by Wendell Carter Jr. and was even benched for a stretch during the second half of Game 3.

However, the team remains highly supportive of Duren and expects him to bounce back.

“These last three games haven’t went the way he wants, or we might want for him,” Cade Cunningham said, per Hunter Patterson of The Athletic. “But I, and the whole team, have no doubt that he’s going to figure it out. He knows he’s going to figure it out. So I’m excited for next game for him to plant his foot into this series.”

Positive reinforcement is the right approach, according to forward Ausar Thompson.

“Just be there for him, you know?” Thompson said. “Encourage him, feed him the ball and give him some space to work. I just want him to keep being aggressive, that’s it. We’re good, we’re not worried about him.”

Here’s more on the Pistons:

• Cunningham is averaging a whopping 6.3 turnovers per game in the series, including nine in Game 3 — equaling his assist total. Cunningham knows he has to cut down on the mistakes to prevent the Eastern Conference’s top seed from getting bounced in the first round, Coty Davis of the Detroit News writes. “It’s a possession game in the playoffs, and a lot of this falls on my shoulders where I have to be better,” Cunningham said. “I have to make sure I am doing a good job of getting the ball out to my guys to make sure they can make plays. We have had too many empty possessions where we are giving the ball back to them. Again, that’s on me.”
• The pressure is on the Pistons to win on Monday and even the series. Coach J.B. Bickerstaff expects his team to wrest control back from the Magic. “It’s one game at a time, and that’s what playoff series are. You can’t hang on to it. We come down here, we win on Monday — we take home court advantage back,” Bickerstaff said, per Davis. “Our guys have been consistent all year, and we’ve been able to move on to the next. So, I trust our guys. We’ll be ready to go.”
• Magic Johnson, a Michigan native, wrote on Twitter the Pistons must regain their identity or risk an embarrassing playoff outcome. “The Detroit Pistons better get their swagger back on the defensive end or else they are going to lose this series against the Orlando Magic,” he said.
• Reserve guard Kevin Huerter participated in Monday morning’s shootaround but remains listed as questionable for Game 4, Davis tweets. He’s dealing with left hip soreness.