Detroit Pistons wing Ausar Thompson is already in the upper echelon of NBA defenders in only his third season as a pro
In the modern NBA, most of the defensive credit is hurtled towards big men when it comes to the Defensive Player of the Year award, but Detroit Pistons wing Ausar Thompson was able to crack the podium as a perimeter defender this season, which is quite an accomplishment in its own right.
Now in his third year as a pro, Thompson is doing his best to swing the defensive pendulum back into the favor of wing defenders at the point-of-attack with his lightning-quick reflexes, savvy basketball instincts and the athleticism to tie it all together into a turnover-causing defensive package.
During the postseason, Thompson was tied for the NBA lead in terms of blocks in the first round of the playoffs. In that same timeframe, Thompson also tied for the top mark in the league for steals, so the Pistons’ ace defender compiled stock after stock against the Orlando Magic in round one.
Now facing the Cleveland Cavs in the second round, Thompson is applying his aggression and pressure to Donovan Mitchell this time around in hopes of slowing down the prolific scorer. In game one, Thompson was only credited with one block and one steal in Detroit’s 111-101 victory, but the rangy, pick-pocketing merchant was mightily influential with his help-side defense and rotational instincts even when he wasn’t the on-ball defender in order to raise the profile of the Pistons’ team defense against their divisional opponent.
“It’s the discipline that it takes and how do you continue to put pressure on people and be physical with people and wear on people but being intelligent with your hands really,” Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said on Wednesday. “You watch AT, and he’s one of the best positional defenders I’ve seen. His ability to put his feet between you and the basket no matter where you are is second to none. He’s got unbelievable feel for when the ball is exposed, how quick his hands are to get to it without fouling as well. So, he is unique in his ability, but I think he and Ron have a similar skill set that way.”
The Ausar Thompson matchup is one problem that the Cavs will need to grapple with in this series. Given his size, Thompson can adequately defend one through four with stints of locking down NBA centers from time to time as well, and he’s always lurking for another steal to jumpstart Detroit’s transition offense. That type of alertness is a quality that Thompson has fostered as a Piston, and it’s one that he’s working to pass down to his defensive understudy in Ron Holland.
“Just being in the right spot at the right time,” Holland said of Thompson’s defensive ability. “Ausar got a different type of athleticism, so he can make up for a lot of those mistakes with whatever he does. One thing that I’ve picked up from him is just keep being him. [When] he ain’t having a team guarding him, he’s not letting that affect him. He’s finding another way to be effective. I’m really watching that and I feel like I can take a lot from that.”
Even when Thompson isn't reaching double-figures in terms of scoring, the versatile point forward finds other ways to make a difference. Take his 15-rebound, five-block, two-steal performance from Game 5 against the Magic as a textbook example of that.
While a third-year player is not usually teaching a second-year pro the ins and outs of defensive coverages in the NBA, Thompson breaks that mold because there’s simply not many one-to-one comparisons for him out there in the league. Of course, Amen down in Houston is the obvious connection, but Ausar uses his defense to create offense going the other direction on a more consistent basis than his Rockets counterpart. So, Thompson has begun leaving tips and tricks for Holland as he begins his defensive journey as an impact player on both ends of the court.
Thompson, Holland and the rest of the Pistons will take the court tomorrow night at 7 pm in an attempt to take a 2-0 lead over the Cavs in the second round.
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