Wild Pistons lineup options when Ausar Thompson returns

The Detroit Pistons currently have the 10th-ranked defense in the NBA, which is one of the surprises of the young season. 

JB Bickerstaff has to be given credit for getting his team to buy into his philosophy, particularly Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey, who have both improved on the defensive end. 

The veterans have helped even though they aren’t great indidividual defenders, and Malik Beasley in particular has stood out for his effort, which has been an pleasant surprise about his game. 

Detroit is holding their own in the paint, but have been getting torched from the 3-point line, as they are just 23rd in the league in 3-point defense. A big part of this has been their inability to defend stretch centers as we’ve seen in five different games this season. 

Possibly the most impressive thing about the Pistons’ defensive start is that they’ve been doing it without their best defender, but Ausar Thompson will be back soon and will give them options to help shore up their perimeter defense. 

Detroit Pistons lineup possibilities with Ausar Thompson 

Let’s not sugarcoat it, the problem has been Jalen Duren, who is still having all of the same defensive issues, especially when it comes to switching and defending in space. 

He’s been more engaged around the rim, but teams know they can target him if they can draw him out of the paint or make him move laterally. 

When Thompson comes back, JB Bickerstaff could choose to go smaller with lineups more capable of defending the perimeter. 

Going small 

-Cade Cunningham 

-Ausar Thompson 

-Tim Hardaway Jr./Malik Beasley/Jaden Ivey 

-Tobias Harris 

-Isaiah Stewart 

There are any number of combinations coach Bickerstaff could use to go small with Stewart at center and Thompson roaming around from the wing position. 

Malik Beasley or Jaden Ivey could be switched out with THJ, but the important part is Thompson, who can switch onto centers on the perimeter and will at least get in their chest and challenge shots. 

Thompson also makes up for some of what you lose on the boards and these lineups would have plenty of space, especially as Stewart starts to shoot more 3’s. He’s hit a couple over the last two games and is looking more comfortable after not shooting many early on. 

This is the structure of a lineup we are likely to see plenty of when Thompson returns, especially if Duren continues to struggle. 

Pistons go really small: Using Ausar Thompson at center 

Thompson can comfortably defend 1-4 but asking him to guard centers is a bit much, but it’s something the Pistons can do in short stretches. 

-Cade Cunningham 

-Jaden Ivey 

-Malik Beasley 

-Tobias Harris/Simone Fontecchio 

-Ausar Thompson 

This would be a fun group for a few minutes a game, as they can switch all over the floor and have a ton of spacing on offense. 

With three guys who can get to the rim in Cade, Ivey and Thompson flanked by two shooters, the Pistons would present matchup problems on offense for other teams and could try to get out on every missed shot in transition to take advantage of a quick group. 

On defense, both Thompson and Harris can hold their own in the paint, and so few teams even use a traditional post up center that it may not even matter against opponents that don’t have someone who scores around the rim. 

This is a lineup they could have used last night against the Bulls, who have no rim protection or post presence but do have centers who can shoot. I would have rather had Ausar defending Vucevic last night than Jalen Duren. 

The good news is that one of the Pistons’ most glaring problems does have a partial solution when Ausar Thompson returns, as he will make everyone a little better with his defensive versatility and give coach Bickerstaff ways to create mismatches.