Detroit Pistons: How Cade Cunningham Benefits From Ausar Thompson’s Secondary Playmaking

Earlier in the week, the Detroit Pistons opened their preseason slate with a thrilling 109-107 last-second victory over the Phoenix Suns thanks to the late-game heroics of rookie Ebuka Okorie. With crucial time ticking off the clock, Okorie broke down his defender and got to the bucket for a game-winning lefty scoop shot with less than six seconds remaining in the contest.

For the Pistons, Okorie’s clutch shot is an early indicator that the first-year floor general can be a regular contributor this season, but Detroit is working to integrate a batch of new players into the squad while keeping their defensive identity intact. That task is easier said than done, but Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff is experimenting with new lineup combinations in the preseason for a preview of what Detroit could look like in the 2026-27 campaign. 

Along those lines, one wrinkle that the Pistons are exploring is the possibility of Ausar Thompson serving as a secondary playmaker in the Motor City, which is an idea that had legs earlier in AT’s career as well. During the first quarter against Phoenix, Thompson brought the ball up the floor and initiated half-court sets for the Pistons on several occasions with Cade Cunningham serving in an off-ball capacity. Overall, the fourth-year wing accepted 10 on-ball picks as a ball handler for Detroit on Monday, which stands out in stark comparison to his screen frequency last season where he crossed the 10-pick threshold just five times. 

When Thompson runs the show, that gives Cunningham the opportunity to diversify his movement pattern and complicate defensive pattern recognition, tilting the scale in Detroit’s favor. So, the Pistons are using Thompson as a valve to relieve pressure considering all the on-ball attention that Cunningham draws throughout the course of the game, and it was an effective tactic against Phoenix early on. 

“Teams have the idea that they just want to wear Cade down,” Bickerstaff said after practice today. “They want to pick him up. They want to double-team him. They want to be physical with him. It makes a huge difference when sometimes you just get to jog to a corner without having to worry about a double-team or picking up full-court and wrestling. So, I think it just can allow him to be fresher, and then again, it’s a different look when all 10 eyes are staring at you as opposed to when you get a chance to go hide then come back and play. It gives you advantages earlier with coming off of screens and that type of thing also.”

Last year, Cunningham struggled with turnovers in the postseason when the Orlando Magic deployed Franz Wagner for on-ball pressure in the first round, but the Pistons adapted by getting other ball handlers onto the floor to relieve pressure, much like Thompson did against the Suns. Then later in the second round against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Bickerstaff returned to small-ball sets with Cunningham and Daniss Jenkins playing alongside each other for that added layer of playmaking and versatility that the Pistons sought. 

With Okorie in the Motor City, the Pistons should have even more options on that front, but Thompson’s development as a secondary playmaker would help Detroit become a more dynamic squad offensively and could be the leap needed to keep pace with a reloaded Eastern Conference this season.