The Detroit Pistons head coach spoke about the flexibility forward Ausar Thompson brings to the team

On Monday night, the Pistons took off to a quick start from an overall preseason perspective with a 16-point win over the Grizzlies, but Detroit actually started the exhibition affair on the back foot. 

Early on, Memphis was connecting on shots from deep and went 6-for-6 from long range in the first quarter. That sharp shooting when combined with a sloppy nine-turnover quarter for Detroit helped spell a slow start for the Pistons in the preseason before the squad turned it around. 

“We caught up to the speed of the game,” Bickerstaff said. “I thought Memphis did a really good job of playing fast, playing at tempo, and it took us a minute to kind of get our feet wet against another team, the things that are going to make us good defensively in particular, you know, like we let the ball go wherever it wanted to go early, you know, they were penetrating our paint. We weren't physical, we weren't aggressive, and I think we found, you know, our rhythm where we could be more physical and create turnovers, and then got out in transition.”

After the first quarter, the Pistons had accrued a sizable deficit as the Grizzlies held onto a 42-24 lead. From that point, Detroit leaned on its rotation in an effort to jumpstart the squad’s energy in the preseason opener. 

“I think the group that started the second quarter for us, it's a really dynamic group,” Bickerstaff said. “It's a versatile group. Ron, Stew, Duncan, Caris and AT, you know, you just look at the size on that, and then, you know, Ron gets hurt, and we bring Cade in for him with that group. I think we found something with that group that we can use moving forward.”

As Bickerstaff mentioned, the Pistons rotated the lineup heavily since the preseason offers an opportunity to try different combinations on the court, and Detroit seemed to find a bit of success with Ron Holland II, Caris LeVert, Ausar Thompson, Duncan Robinson and Isaiah Stewart on the floor. 

Cade Cunningham Says High Tempo Brings Out Best In Detroit Pistons <i>The Detroit Pistons outscored the Grizzlies 26-10 in Monday’s preseason win</i>

Now, Bickerstaff breezed past an interesting comment, seeming to indicate that Holland suffered an injury in the team’s preseason opener. Holland ended up logging 16 minutes in the matchup, so if he did pick up an injury it was likely minor in nature. However, Bickerstaff also could have meant that in the event Holland (or another player) picks up an injury during the season, then the Pistons can simply plug another versatile, adaptable member of its team into that slot. 

Those qualities have become pillars of the Pistons team as of late, and Bickerstaff has commented on how he wants Detroit to play complimentary basketball. And one scenario that could complement the Pistons’ lineup depending on who is on the court features Ausar Thompson as an acting-point guard and primary ball handler. 

“That's something that we're going to do more of with the tempo that he plays at when he has the ball in his hands,” Bickerstaff said. “The threat that he becomes when he has the ball in his hands, it changes the way that teams have to guard him. He has the ability to make his teammates better, so he's playing at that tempo, pushing the ball and it forces everybody else to run. We just become a faster basketball team, and we've got so many dynamic players on the wing and our bigs that it's going to be hard to guard us when we're pushing it and playing at that pace.”

The Detroit Pistons will take the court on Thursday, Oct. 9 for a preseason game against the Milwaukee Bucks at 8 pm. 

For more information on the latest Detroit Pistons team or player news, follow @EricJRutter on X for continued basketball coverage.