JB Bickerstaff makes compelling argument against himself

Ausar Thompson only scored nine points last night, but he was arguably the Pistons’ most important player, as he added 11 rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals while playing disruptive defense. But he still only played 21 minutes. 

Ausar Thompson’s minutes have been a hot talking point of late, as every metric shows the Pistons are better with him on the court. You can talk about shooting blah blah blah, but the fact is the Pistons are 21-4 this season when Ausar Thompson plays at least 27 minutes, which happens far too rarely, as he is averaging just 25 minutes per game on the season. 

JB Bickerstaff understands his importance, saying after last night’s win, “You have to account for how he creates that chaos and extra opportunities for our team. The deflections, the blocks, the steals, the rebounds … he can stop a run on his own. He can create a run on his own because of his ability to make uncanny play after play." 

All of this is true, but my first response was (sorry for the caps) THEN WHY DID HE ONLY PLAY 21 MINUTES!?!  

Coach Bickerstaff seems to be making an argument against his own rotation strategy here, but to be fair to him, you can’t talk about Thompson’s minutes without talking about Ron Holland, Caris LeVert and the Pistons’ shooting. 

JB Bickerstaff has a tough job, but just play Thompson more

Coach Bickerstaff has a challenging juggling act with Thompson and Holland, as neither of them can shoot, and it’s tough to play them together with a center that also doesn’t spread the floor. 

Bickerstaff is also trying desperately to get Caris LeVert going, which seems to be a blind spot for him, as LeVert hasn’t been good and wasn’t again last night, but still logged just one fewer minute than Thompson, who was everywhere. 

Holland has been playing well and got 26 minutes last night after he was inexplicably benched against Cleveland even though he had 12 points in 15 minutes. Thompson got 36 minutes in the overtime win, so it seems to be a one or the other strategy with Bickerstaff when it comes to his two best wing defenders. 

I fully support getting Holland his minutes, as he’s an impactful player even when he isn’t scoring, but Ausar Thompson should not be losing minutes to Caris LeVert until the latter proves he can provide something to justify them. 

I would understand Thompson’s up and down minutes more if the Pistons had a bunch of shooters coming off the bench, but they don’t, and Detroit needs Thompson’s defense to create offense, which is why they struggle on both ends when he’s out. 

This could all end in the playoffs, and could we finally see Thompson out there for 30+ minutes per game, but I fear we may get a repeat of last season, so I hope JB Bickerstaff is listening to his own words.