The Pistons are using the preseason to do a lot of experimentation on both sides of the ball. One such offensive example has been using Ausar Thompson as a point guard. He’s often gotten opportunities to handle the ball more, including in last night’s game against the Bucks, but it’s becoming more and more obvious that he’s not yet ready to take on this role full time.
Ausar Thompson is not a natural point guard
Thompson has shown impressive ball-handling and playmaking in spurts last season. He even had some highlight plays against the Knicks that came from tight dribble moves. But his natural position is not to be the guy running the offense.
Against the Bucks, Ausar was given the opportunity to run point very early and often. Even when Cade Cunningham was in the game, Ausar still got chances to show his abilities as the lead ball-handler. But he struggled in these moments.
The offense looked stagnant without Cade’s dynamic playmaking on the ball and Ausar’s handle was not fluid enough to get by defenders. This included even average defenders like AJ Green, so we can only imagine what would happen if Ausar was running point against the truly elite defenders of the league.
On the few occasions that Ausar did create a nice look for himself, he looked uncomfortable gathering the ball and finishing after extensive dribbling. This resulted in awkward attempts that clanked off the backboard. He’s much better using his athleticism and fluidity to attack space in the open court or exploiting an advantage that’s already been created by another player.
Thompson’s lack of a consistent shot also hurts him tremendously when he’s initiating offense. It allows defenses to sag off and be ready to guard the paint, which can also reduce his playmaking opportunities. Additionally, his abysmal free throw shooting gives teams an easy out if they can foul him hard enough on his way to the basket.
But it’s not all bad for Ausar Thompson. He’s still extremely young and capable of improving this aspect of his game in the future. The Pistons have other capable ball handlers and shot creators to carry the point guard torch in non-Cade minutes for the time being too.
The preseason is a time for trying out new things and seeing what areas teams and players still have to work on. Getting Ausar some on-ball reps at this stage set him up to improve his ball handling going forward and make some mistakes in a low-stakes environment. The Pistons are using the preseason smartly as a developmental and experimental tool for adding new wrinkles to the team. But it might not be time for the point Ausar wrinkle just yet.