There was some mild drama after the Detroit Pistons lost to the San Antonio Spurs with Ausar Thompson spending most of the second half on the bench, but coach JB Bickerstaff righted the ship last night against OKC.
The drama was more in the media than with the team, as Ausar Thompson immediately spoke about his benching and how he would use it as a learning experience, so everything was positive and no grudges were held.
There was never any real concern there would be but given coach Bickerstaff’s history of inexplicably benching Thompson, there was some understandable chatter.
It was funny to see all of the headlines say “Ausar Thompson bounces back vs. OKC” when it was really coach Bickerstaff who needed to adjust.
It’s time to fully unleash Ausar Thompson
Thompson has only averaged 25 minutes per game this season, which is lower than it probably should be, but he played 28 last night, inching closer to where he should be.
Thompson delivered with 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting while adding seven assists, four rebounds, two blocks and three steals, illustrating clearly why he needs to be out there even if he never makes or even takes a 3-point shot.
Detroit was once again smoked in 3-point shooting, as OKC dropped 18 from long range to the Pistons' nine, but Detroit made up for it by dominating the points in the paint (70-32), offensive rebounds, steals and blocks, which has been the recipe for them all season.
This is why Thompson needs to be playing closer to 30 minutes per game, as the Pistons aren’t going to win games with 3-point shooting and anything they get from long range is just gravy atop what they do well, which is defend and turn that defense into offense.
Thompson is also getting better at making plays on the offensive end. He’s been getting to the middle of the floor, hitting cutters and occasionally pulling up for his signature line-drive middy in the lane, something the Pistons need more of.
And it’s not as if the Pistons have a bunch of lights out shooters coming off the bench, so they may as well lean into what has gotten them this far, which is a defense led by Ausar Thompson, not a barrage of 3-point shooting.
There wasn’t much to the “drama” between coach Bickerstaff and Thompson, but it’s good to see whatever it was squashed and that JB bounced back from his inexplicable decision to bench one of his best players.
Let’s hope we continue to see more Ausar minutes and more of him being integrated into the offense in ways that play to his strengths.