Detroit Pistons Stats: Ausar Thompson Leads The Team In Rebounding

After a timely three-day break, the Detroit Pistons are back in action tonight at Little Caesars Arena with the Los Angeles Lakers in town for a highly touted cross-conference matchup. At 6-2, the Pistons are currently third in the Eastern Conference with a few big wins already on their resume, but the Lakers have the best record in the West at 8-2, so both squads have had strong starts to the 2026-27 campaign. 

For LA, Luka Doncic has been impossible for anybody to contain as of late with at least 40 points in six of his last seven games, but he’s listed as questionable heading into tonight’s 6 pm contest due to a lower back issue. Given Doncic’s injury history and the general duration of a lengthy regular season, there’s a chance the Lakers’ star scorer sits this one out in order to stay healthy for the rest of the year. 

If Doncic is good to go, then the dynamic playmaker could have a large dose of Ausar Thompson’s on-ball defensive offerings in store for him once the matchup tips off. After finishing third for the Defensive Player of the Year award last season, Thompson’s vaunted perimeter defense would be key in disrupting Doncic’s red-hot rhythm, but the Lakers have a handful of talented offensive threats with Austin Reaves chipping in 23.5 points per game as well. 

Most recently, Doncic went off for a 53-point explosion against the Portland Trail Blazers, so there’s no question that Thompson would be at least partly responsible for limiting Luka’s impact, but the Pistons wing has seen his responsibility increase in a number of areas this season. Detroit head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has continued to use AT as an on-ball creator during the early portion of the season, so his offensive usage is finally balancing out with his defensive importance. 

Since Jalen Duren has been injured with a strained hamstring for the last six games, Thompson has also recommitted to crashing the boards to help alleviate the All-Star’s absence. Against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night, Thompson grabbed a whopping 17 rebounds to help Detroit’s cause, and the fourth-year wing currently ranks as the Pistons’ rebounding leader through eight games. 

With 8.6 rebounds per game, Thompson not only leads Detroit but ranks 19th in the NBA as a whole on account of his glass-cleaning efforts. Now, Duren pulled in 10.5 rebounds per game last season, so there is still a decline that’s left the Pistons on the wrong side of the boards battle lately, but Thompson is holding up his end of the bargain in a season where he’s already shown a lot of overall improvement. 

Of course, Thompson still takes on the toughest defensive assignments each game for Detroit, but he’s grown to be more assertive as a playmaker, a bit more consistent as a mid-range shooter and extra aggressive in the rebounding game to help the Pistons this year. Given Thompson’s versatile profile, these stat-stuffing performances are closer to his potential since he has the ability to impact the game in so many different areas, so look for AT to be a dark horse candidate for the Most Improved Player title when the year is over.