Ausar Thompson has had his fair share of frustrations this preseason, but had perhaps his worst game so far on Tuesday night. Thompson continued to struggle in his potential new role as a ball handler, but also had an additional grievance. He finished the game fouling out after 24 minutes, and revived memories of his biggest defensive weakness last season.
Ausar needs to cut down on his fouls
Ausar is one of the league's most unique and electric defenders when he's on the court. His ability to force turnovers and guard nearly every position is matched by very few across the NBA. But his tendency to find himself in foul trouble has too often kept him off the court in pivotal stretches of big games.
It's arguably Thompson's only real defensive weakness, and one that he shares with other top defenders on the Pistons. Both Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart were also near the top of the league in fouls per minute last season. It's something that team as a whole has committed to improving this season, but Ausar's performance against the Cavaliers shows he may not be past this weakness just yet.
Elsewhere, Ausar has also struggled in different areas of his game this preseason. He's been thrust into a role as a primary ball-handler that he's not entirely ready for yet. In this game, with Cade Cunningham sitting out, there was even more defensive focus on Ausar while playing this role. It led to some offensive frustrations, although Ausar did finish with 9 points and 4 assists.
Even in a game where he frequently initiated offense in the halfcourt, half of Ausar's field goals came on the fastbreak. If there's anything this preseason has proven about Ausar Thompson's offensive game, it's that he's still best attacking the basket in the open court. He may not develop into a go-to halfcourt creator this season, but the Pistons can still get good offensive value out of him by playing to his strengths.
Another increasingly frustrating aspect of Ausar's game has been his free-throw shooting. With the ball in his hands and unstoppable athleticism, he's actually gone to the charity stripe a fair amount in the preseason. Through three games, he is now averaging nearly 6 free throw attempts per game. But he's hitting them at just 41% accuracy. If this trend continues, he will leave a lot of points at the line this season and give defenses an easy out on the fastbreak.
Ausar Thompson came into the preseason with a lot of hype, but has not fully lived up to it. He has continued to display his strengths from last season, but struggled to expand his game to new elements. Hopefully the Pistons can put him in positions to succeed without asking him to do too much.