Ausar Thompson of the Detroit Pistons recently claimed that he is the best perimeter defender in the NBA and it’s hard to argue with him.
The Celtics found out first hand last night, as Thompson was everywhere, disrupting the Celtics half-court offense, nabbing steals and starting the fast break going the other way.
I truly believe Thompson is an offseason and training camp from being in the All-Star discussion next season.
He won’t play enough games to qualify for the All-Defensive team this season, but he is going to be there soon, as the league is starting to recognize how special he is.
The only negative to last night was that Thompson went down late in the game, clutching at his right calf and had to leave, though he did so on his own power.
He briefly went to the locker-room but then was right back on the bench, and if JB Bickerstaff had asked him to get back in there, my guess is that Ausar would have.
He was noticeably limping after the game, so this is something to keep an eye on, as the Pistons have largely avoided the injuries that have derailed them in recent years and need their best defender on the court.
The Pistons have an 18-8 record since Thompson joined the starting lineup after Jaden Ivey’s injury and they have had a top-5 defense in that span. If you think that’s a coincidence, then you haven’t been paying attention.
This is in no way shade towards Ivey, who was playing well before his unfortunate injury, but the Pistons’ defense has come alive since Thompson started playing more minutes.
With a big game against the Denver Nuggets coming up tomorrow, fans will be scouring the injury reports, and no news is good news.
Ausar Thompson injury update: Will he play against the Denver Nuggets?
Ausar’s injury looked bad at first, as he crumpled as if having rolled an ankle, but thankfully it was called a calf “cramp” by medical personnel, which is the absolute best-case scenario here.
It would make sense, as Thompson was giving max effort the entire time he was on the floor last night and it’s possible that he just needs to drink some pickle juice or eat some mustard, as Malik Beasley jokingly suggested after the game last night.
There has been no update on the NBA’s official injury report and likely won’t be today, so we’ll have to wait until game time tomorrow to see if this cramping issue is going to keep Thompson out of the lineup.
I’ll update this as the status changes, so check back, and in the meantime, do whatever it is you do to keep the bad mojo away from Thompson’s calf.