Ausar Thompson has established himself as a key player for the Detroit Pistons, and head coach JB Bickerstaff has high hopes for the 22-year-old guard this upcoming season.
While speaking with The Athletic’s Hunter Patterson, the Detroit Pistons head coach said he plans to have Thompson shoulder more playmaking duties to relieve some pressure off Cade Cunningham.
“That’s something we’re going to do more of. The tempo that (Thompson) plays at when he has the ball in his hands, and the threat that he becomes when he has the ball in his hands, changes the way that teams have to guard him. He has the ability to make his teammates better,” Bickerstaff said about Thompson.
“Teams decide they want to pick Cade up full court, and sometimes because of the gravity he holds, people just hug up on him,” he added. “Now his defender has to play off a screen or off a shift, and it just makes him a better offensive player when people can’t get their hands on him to wrestle and hold him.”
Detroit Pistons News: Ausar Thompson draws huge compliment from Cade Cunningham
It seems that Cade Cunningham is on board with JB Bickerstaff’s decision to empower Ausar Thompson more this upcoming season, as he believes that Thompson’s growth will help the Detroit Pistons in the long run.
“Ausar is a guy who can initiate offense at a high level,” Cunningham said. “Giving him room to get more and more comfortable with it as the preseason goes along, I think that’ll be a big weapon for us.”
In his second full season with the Detroit Pistons, Thompson averaged 10.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.7 steals on 53.5 percent shooting from the field across 59 regular season games (48 starts).
