Detroit Pistons’ Ausar Thompson Is A ‘High-Level Playmaker’ Per Bickerstaff

Through five games in the regular season, the Detroit Pistons are already standing atop the Eastern Conference with a 4-1 record, one that they’ve achieved through multiple game scripts. 

On some nights, Pistons All-Star center Jalen Duren has been available, but he’s currently shut down due to a strained hamstring. On other occasions, Detroit has benefited from Ausar Thompson’s two-way influence, but the defensive menace was temporarily sidelined with a sprained ankle within the last week. 

At times, the Pistons have needed to dig deep to force double-digit comebacks this season, but Detroit has found a way more often than not with Thompson playing an important role in that process. Though he’s usually lauded for his turnover-forcing ability and defensive contributions, AT is looking to take a step forward as a secondary playmaker for the Pistons, and the fourth-year point forward dabbled in that creative zone last night with seven points, nine rebounds and eight assists against the Hornets. 

“I thought he did a really good job of understanding what they were trying to do to him defensively at different points in time in the game,” Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said after the game. “They tried to put their five on him some, guys went and sat in the paint, but I thought he did a great job of finding the reads and finding the places where he can get the ball and then make the plays from there. He’s a high-level playmaker when the ball’s in his hands, and to be able to make that adjustment on the fly, that just continues to show his growth.”

While Thompson hasn’t quite figured out how to carry more of a scoring burden given his shooting struggles, the versatile Piston is still finding ways to be impactful within the structure of Detroit’s offense. Since Cade Cunningham runs into double-teams so frequently, the Pistons have explored the idea of having Thompson bring the ball up the floor to initiate offense on a more consistent basis, thereby releasing their All-NBA playmaker to make new reads when operating in an off-ball capacity. 

But so far, that concept has given mixed results. Thompson looked like a dangerous, dynamic ball handler during the pre-season who was unafraid to elevate for an open mid-range shot when available, but that confidence has not necessarily transferred over to the regular season. However, the Pistons need a running mate for Cunningham when Duren is out of the lineup, which provides the perfect platform for Thompson to answer the call as a secondary option for Detroit before the postseason arrives. 

Right now, Duren is slated to be reevaluated in just over a week, so the Pistons still have several more games without their All-NBA Third Team big man. While Duren works back up to full health, watch out for how Detroit chooses to utilize Thompson both when Cunningham is on the floor and during Cade-less minutes as well. Bickerstaff has shown a comfort level in utilizing multiple playmakers on the floor at once, so Thompson’s emergence as an offensive creator could help the Pistons become even tougher to take down.