Ausar Thompson has been vital to the Detroit Pistons' success this season and when the versatile forward missed a stretch of games, it became evident just how important of a role he played in J.B. Bickerstaff's system.
Detroit's recent rough patch came as a result to several reasons, but arguably the biggest reason of them all was the absence of the team's defensive ace.
Fortunately his return to action came at the perfect time, especially with the recent developments for the Pistons.
Ausar Thompson's return spared Detroit
Thompson returned to action against the Toronto Raptors, just one game prior to Cade Cunningham's eventual setback that would sideline him indefinitely after be diagnosed with a collapsed lung.
Obviously, there's no perfect answer to fill the void that Cunningham leaves behind, especially considering just how important the MVP candidate is for the Pistons on the offensive side of the ball.
Despite that, if Detroit would have found themselves in a position where both Thompson and Cunningham were out of the lineup, it's safe to assume Bickerstaff's job would have gotten much harder.
As of late, the Pistons have done an exceptional job weathering the storm without their star guard, even with their recent overtime loss to the Atlanta Hawks snapping their recent winning streak.
A large reason for that success has been the two-way play from Thompson, who continues to flash his versatility as both a defensive anchor and savvy offensive weapon.
Thompson's time of return may have spared the Pistons from a late-season collapse that put them in bad spot heading into the postseason.
Pistons seem secure atop the East
After the team's recent stretch of wins, Detroit has put themselves in position to clinch the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Following the injury of Cunningham, nightmare scenarios flashed about the potential opportunity the team could fall into a spell of bad habits and underwhelming play that would open a window for one of the Boston Celtics of New York Knicks to close the gap between the No. 2 seed and the top seed.
The return of Thompson though, and the emergence of Daniss Jenkins in a starting role has allowed for the team to close whatever window opposing teams thought they had.
If Cunningham finds himself in position to return for a postseason run with the Pistons, the East will run through the Motor City with home court advantage almost locked in for Detroit.