The Detroit Pistons and Memphis Grizzlies squared off on Monday evening in a battle between teams navigating difficult seasons. The Pistons entered with the NBA’s worst record at 13-61 and, while the Grizzlies were 11 games ahead of Detroit in the standings, Memphis also ranked seventh-worst in the league in winning percentage. As such, the game wasn’t heavily consequential from a win-loss standpoint, but both teams are evaluating for the future, and the matchup intriguing young big men in Jaren Jackson Jr. for Memphis and Jalen Duren for Detroit.
Unfortunately, the pair collided in the first quarter, and the result was particularly rough for Duren. In short, Duren had a tooth knocked out and went directly to the locker room.
Jalen Duren lost a tooth when he collided with Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr.
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The slow-motion replay clearly showed Duren’s tooth flying out and onto the floor, which isn’t the easiest thing to watch and was certainly even more difficult to experience. Detroit initially listed Duren as questionable to return, but he was ruled out just a few moments later.
Fortunately, Jackson Jr. was able to stay in the game and the hope would be that it is only a short-term absence for Duren. Still, this isn’t something that is super fun for anyone, and it marred what was otherwise a strong first half for the Pistons as they built a 13-point lead by the break.