After having their 8-game win streak snapped by the Denver Nuggets, the Detroit Pistons got right back to their winning ways and started a new streak.
They demolished the Utah Jazz last night for their second win in a row, which was good to see, as the Pistons had lost four straight to the Jazz and always seem to have problems when playing in Salt Lake City.
That wasn’t the case last night, as the Pistons put an old-fashioned beatdown on the Jazz, forcing steals, getting out on the fast break and dominating the paint, which has been their formula during this recent surge.
The Pistons have now won 10-of-11 games for the first time since 2008 and are pulling away from the teams behind them, as the Heat are five games back and the Magic six.
Cade Cunningham had a big night, but how about Ausar Thompson? He had 17 points, six rebounds, five assists, three steals and a block while shooting a perfect 7-of-7 from the field and hitting all three of his free throws.
Thompson has been one of the biggest factors in the Pistons’ surge, as they are 20-9 since he joined the starting lineup and have improved to 9th overall in the league in defense. JB Bickerstaff may get a statue in Detroit before it’s over, as he has orchestrated one of the biggest defensive turnarounds in recent league history.
Thompson is doing all of this without shooting many jumpers, in fact, he hasn’t taken a single 3-point attempt in the last 10 games. All I heard last summer was how Ausar needed to improve as a 3-point shooter for him to be effective, but he’s proving you can make an impact in the modern game without it.
In fact, the Pistons’ bread and butter has nothing to do with the 3-point line, as they try to dominate the paint and stop teams from scoring there. Ausar’s doughnuts from 3-point range haven’t mattered a bit and he’s still impacting the game in a number of ways.
Jalen Duren’s block frenzy
Coming into the season, Jalen Duren’s rim protection was a constant topic of conversation, and he struggled early in the season to ease those concerns.
But at some point, everything clicked for the big man and he figured out that he can impact games just by giving consistent effort on both ends.
Duren has been far more active on defense, getting his hands on everything, causing deflections, grabbing steals and getting out in transition.
When he runs the floor hard, Duren is hard to stop, but it all starts with defense and Duren has been much better on that end.
He has blocked 10 shots combined in the last two games and is averaging 1.5 per game over his last 10. More importantly, he’s just been more active and disruptive and if the other team’s center doesn’t sprint back, Duren is going to get a dunk.
For me, many of the questions about Duren have been answered and given he is only 21-years-old, he is far from a finished product on the defensive end.