With Ausar Thompson’s impending return to the lineup, I started thinking about defense.
Obviously, Ausar is one of the Detroit Pistons’ best defenders. He offers versatility on that end that no one else on this roster can bring to the table. Detroit’s defense was awful last season but, prior to his blood clot in March, Ausar was its best and most disruptive defender.
The big question is, how does he fit in this season?
Detroit is off to an encouraging 4-7 start without him, boasting a surprising 11th-ranked defensive rating (111.6) while giving up just 105 points per game — good for fifth in the league. I’ll be honest, I’m as shocked by those numbers as you are.
The Pistons aren’t a team with good defensive personnel. They have another good defender in Isaiah Stewart, but by and large they aren’t built to really lock down and defend, yet.
Credit J.B. Bickerstaff on getting the most out of this group. Ausar can only help.
When Thompson was on the floor last season, the Pistons defense was better in every way.
They forced more turnovers and held teams to a .453 eFG% while forcing turnovers on 13.2% of their pssessions. When he was off the court, they gave up .568 eFG% and opponent turnovers dropped to 11.9 percent.
Your opponents’ offensive rating with Ausar out there was 115.9. Without him, it was 121.9. The Utah Jazz were the worst defensive team in the league last season and their defensive rating was 120, for reference.
So, yeah, Ausar is a boost. Sean dove into where he might fit in the rotation, and I agree that rookie Ron Holland is gonna lose some minutes along with Tim Hardaway Jr. on nights where he isn’t making shots.
Bickerstaff will likely try to deploy Thompson similarly to how he did Isaac Okoro when he was coaching the Cleveland Cavaliers. Okoro spent a ton of time as a point-of-attack defender, handling a lot of ball-screen actions and primary scorers.
The Pistons put Thompson in similar situations last year, and he did fine for a rook.
I think his best ability last year was off the ball, where he made lift hell on opponents before they even got the ball, broke up passes and used his length and intuition to blow up drives as a help defender.
In case you forgot what that looked like:
I think being off the court for so long offered Thompson a good opportunity to see the game from another perspective. He’s worked on his shot maniacally with assistant coach Fred Vinson, and if his work with Jaden Ivey is reflected in his work with Ausar, we might have a big addition set to arrive in the coming games.
In the meantime, I’m just excited to see Ausar back on the floor. He’s such a fun player to watch glide around the court and create havoc. It’s a good addition at a good time for a Pistons team that is finally figuring out what “good” looks like.