Ausar Thompson had a difficult season after missing the early schedule recovering from blood clots, but his performance in the playoffs should have Detroit Pistons fans excited.
Thompson’s growth may be the single most important factor for the Pistons next season, as he is already an elite defender and could propel himself into the All-Star conversation if he can improve on offense.
That’s why Zach Lowe named Thompson his “most intriguing player” for next season on a recent episode of “The Zach Lowe Show.”
Fans have talked a lot about Ausar’s growth as a playmaker and shooter, which would obviously be nice, but Thompson’s playoff performance against the Knicks gave us a glimpse of other ways he can help the offense next season.
Lowe thinks the “physicality” of the Knicks series will be good for all of the young Pistons, who showed they can go toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference and not back down.
The interesting thing is that the Knicks didn’t really have an answer for Thompson, which is something the Pistons will continue to exploit as he improves on offense.
Ausar Thompson dominating in many ways
The Pistons started using Jalen Duren in the short roll to try and take pressure off of Cade Cunningham and exploit the holes in the Knicks’ defense and they really found something with Duren passing to a cutting Ausar Thompson.
Duren’s continued improvement out of the short roll is crucial for next season and Thompson will be a big part of it, as he is tough to stop as a cutter because of his quickness and ability to finish in traffic.
Lowe pointed out that Thompson creates gravity as a cutter which should hopeful offset some of his poor outside shooting. Defenders have to worry about where he is, and we’ll see him in that position a lot more looking to attack rather than stand in the corner like genius Monty Williams had him doing.
Thompson also pulled down nearly two offensive rebounds per game last season, elite numbers for a wing and another way he contributed to the offense in the playoffs without shooting. He gets after it on the boards and has the athleticism to get above the rim and finish.
Ausar also averaged 9.5 free throws per-36 minutes in the playoffs, also elite numbers that will hopefully translate to next season. Bigger defenders can’t keep up with Thompson and he can bully smaller ones, something he exploited in the playoffs.
These free throw numbers were a huge jump from his 3.8 attempts per-36 in the regular season and is something he can build upon, though he will have to knock down more than 64 percent of them.
Ausar Thompson doesn’t have to become Magic Johnson or an elite 3-point shooter to make a difference. With cutting, offensive rebounds and free throws, Thompson can find creative ways to score, and the playoff series against the Knicks showed he can do it.