Jalen Duren was named to his first All-Star team last night and has given his teammate Ausar Thompson the blueprint for how to get there next season.
Duren has been impressive on both ends this season, as he’s not only upped his average to over 18 points per game, but has been much more effective defensively, especially against the pick and roll.
Cade Cunningham and Duren have evolved into one of the most formidable duos operating the pick-and-roll themselves and lead the league in alley-oops dunk connections on the season.
Part of Duren’s ascent is he’s in the best shape of his life and realized that he can physically dominate opponents, whether it is going right through them or blowing by them with the dribble.
We’ve not seen this kind of offensive leap from Ausar Thompson, who is a year behind Duren, and can learn a lot from his teammate when it comes to using his body.
Jalen Duren has given Ausar Thompson the All-Star blueprint
I’ve seen some online fans complaining about the lack of offensive leap from Thompson this season, who still can’t shoot and has issues with decision making in the lane.
My response to that is ARE YOU NUTS?
Thompson does so many other things well and is the centerpiece of Detroit’s defense. I can only assume the people saying these things are not watching the games, as Thompson has his fingerprints all over them.
Last night was a perfect example, as Thompson made about five plays towards the end of the half that helped the Pistons pull away from the hapless Nets.
He leapt over an opponent for an offensive rebound, blocked a shot at the rim, whipped a perfect pass to Duncan Robinson after drawing in the defense, stole the ball just before the half and nailed a turnaround 3-point heave from half court as the buzzer sounded.
He ended the night with nine points, eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks, all in 25 minutes for a staggering +43 on the night, and other than his half court prayer, he didn’t shoot the 3-ball at all.
Thompson is up to 30 percent from long range on the season but is shooting even fewer of them than he did last year, which is fine.
Thompson doesn’t need to turn into Duncan Robinson to make an offensive leap, but like Duren, he has to have more confidence that he can dominate opponents physically.
Thompson is still too tentative at the rim after exploding to get there and often double pumps instead of just taking it up strong through the contact. As he gets stronger and more confident, those will become finishes at the rim or at least draw fouls.
I’ve been a proponent of extending patience to Jaden Ivey because of his injury and Thompson is in the same boat, as he is still behind developmentally after missing a lot of time and an entire training camp.
Duren made the leap by improving his handles and more effectively using his physicality, which is the exact path Thompson needs to take if he wants to get his offense closer to his defense, which is already elite.