Did the Bad Boys reopen business? It certainly felt like it. Or it’s just one guy in a Pistons uniform. The problems that have scarred Jalen Duren for a while manifested in his second game of the season. This time, it got him thrown out of the game. The Pistons are 63-56 at halftime against the Houston Rockets, and they’re going to have to maintain that without Jalen Duren.

During a play in the first half, Duren threw an elbow into Amen Thompson’s face that made the commentators go, “Oh, darn it, he might be out!” And exactly as predicted, Duren was assessed a flagrant 2 foul and ejected.

Thompson was seemingly fine. He had Kevin Durant and his teammates check in on him, and they brushed it off just as quickly. It’s a bit uncharacteristic for Amen to handle this foul without responding just as aggressively.

In contrast, almost straight out of the Bad Boy Pistons playbook, Duren had earned a tech earlier, which resulted in the ejection for a second foul. He had 6 points and rebounds apiece across about 10 minutes in the game. He left by rubbing it in the faces of Rockets fans at the Toyota Center in Houston by brandishing the Pistons across his jersey. Very on brand for that franchise. But unlike the times Isiah Thomas and Bill Laimbeer got it gritty, no one’s liking what Duren did.

He continued the foul trouble from his game against the Bulls on Wednesday. Duren finished with 15 points, but not before picking up two fouls very early in the game. He also caught two lobs from Cade Cunningham to finish with spectacular dunks. Yet they were overshadowed by his rough antics.

The Pistons want to take their turnaround from 14 wins in 2023 to 44 last season even further this time. They can’t have players getting themselves ejected or worse. It’s probably why they’re distancing themselves from Jalen Duren.

Jalen Duren’s extension is on the rocks

You know it’s wild when Amen Thompson is the calm one. It could very well be internal strife that’s causing Jalen Duren to get aggressive on the court. Then again, this isn’t new behavior from him. Just a new context that contrasts with Amen Thompson’s growth on the other team.

This offseason just didn’t go so well for Duren. The Pistons, being in the rebuild phase, have not reached extension agreements with him and Jaden Ivey. Cade Cunningham’s max deal makes him the team’s priority, and the team will look to find pieces that fit around him. By all arguments and what we saw on Wednesday, Duren does make a good pair with Cunningham. However, insiders claim that Duren is looking for a $30 million payday, and the team is restricted.

Then there’s the dilemma of Amen’s twin, Ausar’s upcoming negotiations, along with other player contracts. Some analysts believe that the Pistons want to keep their options open and watch the other players before offering extensions. Others claim that the team is waiting for Duren and Ivey to enter restricted free agency to get some flexibility in the cap space.

In a time when he’s supposed to steer into the stardom, Duren’s antics are annoying fans. That nasty elbow to Amen is getting him flak on X. If he ends up missing more games, he’s leaving the stage open for Isaiah Stewart to gain some standing in Pistons nation.