Jalen Duren, Tobias Harris out vs. Cavaliers amid Pistons' injury woes
Their absences will temporarily thin the team's frontcourt depth, which means more minutes for players such as Isaiah Stewart and Paul Reed.
Good health has been elusive for the Detroit Pistons this season, and Saturday brought more injury news.
Pistons starters Jalen Duren (right ankle sprain) and Tobias Harris (left hip sprain) won’t travel with the team for Detroit’s matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday. The Pistons’ medical staff will re-evaluate Duren in one week, and Harris will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
Caris LeVert will also miss Detroit’s trip to Cleveland as he recovers from right knee inflammation. LeVert, who has become a scoring option off the bench, is considered day to day.
Harris will be re-evaluated in two weeks. Duren will be re-evaluated in one week. LeVert is considered day to day.
— Hunter Patterson (@HunterPatterson) January 3, 2026
Duren’s Jan. 10 re-evaluation date means he’ll be out for at least the Pistons’ next three games. Harris, who is set to be re-evaluated Jan. 17, will be sidelined for at least Detroit’s next five matchups. Their absences will temporarily thin the Pistons’ frontcourt depth, which means more minutes for Isaiah Stewart, Paul Reed, Javonte Green, Ron Holland II and potentially even second-year big Tolu Smith.
Harris suffered his hip injury six minutes into Detroit’s win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday. Duren tweaked his ankle in the first half of the Pistons’ loss to the Miami Heat on Thursday. As for LeVert, Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff said ahead of Thursday’s game that LeVert’s knee inflammation “flared up,” but the team has been managing it all season.
“(Duren) wanted to give it a go and see how he felt,” Bickerstaff said of the center returning for three minutes in the third quarter Thursday before exiting for the remainder of the game. “But (he) just didn’t feel that he could do the things that he needed to do.”
Stewart started in place of Harris on Thursday and will likely remain with the first five out while Harris and Duren are sidelined. Stewart, who earned Eastern Conference Defensive Player of the Month for December, is averaging a career-best 2.0 blocks per game and has cemented himself as one of the best rim protectors in the NBA.
Your Eastern Conference @Kia Defensive Player of the Month for December…
Isaiah Stewart of the Detroit Pistons! https://t.co/MV8oXV6rpg pic.twitter.com/6kuvdaZ5SU
— NBA (@NBA) January 2, 2026
The former Washington Husky has averaged 12.1 points on 35.7 percent from 3-point range, 6.0 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game during his eight starts this season. As impactful as Stewart has been, the Pistons will undoubtedly miss the production of Duren and Harris, who are second (17.9) and third (13.4) in scoring on the team behind Cade Cunningham.