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NBA Communications: San Antonio Spurs forward-center Victor Wembanyama and Detroit Pistons guard-forward Ausar Thompson have been named the Kia NBA Western and Eastern Conference Defensive Players of the Month, respectively, for games played in January.
Omari Sankofa II?: Ausar on Duren: "I see an All-Star, All-NBA, a great guy, great player." What makes him an All-Star? "Everything. Dunking on dudes, excitement, rebounds, defense, scoring, dunking on dudes again. He’s gotta have the most bodies in the league this year."
Omari Sankofa: Yeah. I mean when your rookie season is cut off with blood clots and kind of takes away a summer of development, I think that's going to have a not great effect, obviously... It actually delayed his debut last season. I don't think he started playing until mid-November or so. And then he was on a minute restriction... So, he had a full offseason to work this past offseason. Like you said, he's been great defensively. I think offensively has been more of a mixed bag. We saw him pretty confident, I think, with the ball in his hands early in the season... but Ausar began to handle the ball less. I think he just began to attack games differently. Like you mentioned, with the three-point shooting, he just doesn't really take them anymore. I think some of that's just coaching changes... But I think along with that, yeah, his natural disposition is just to not shoot because that's just not one of the strengths of his game.
After a Nov. 14 win over the Philadelphia 76ers without Cunningham, Duren, Ausar Thompson, Tobias Harris, Jaden Ivey and Marcus Sasser, Bickerstaff referred to his bunch as a group of “nasty dogs.” The nastiness they play with is fueled by the passion he paces the sideline with on a nightly basis. Isaiah Stewart, who could not hide his grin in the locker room after the win, gave Bickerstaff his credit for “being a dog, too.” “Having him, with his system, it fits Detroit basketball perfectly,” Stewart said.
Omari Sankofa II: Cade Cunningham (right wrist contusion) and Ausar Thompson (right heel contusion) are both probable tomorrow. Paul Reed (personal reasons) is questionable.
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What else has he shown you that you think he should have early consideration for MVP? Ausar Thompson: “The way he leads this team every day and the way he carries us. He helps us get wins. He’s a great player. And he leads us. That’s my MVP-take on Cade.”
I see you’ve worked a lot on your shooting. What has that looked like? Ausar Thompson: “Working on my arc and working on my consistency and confidence. I’m trying not to be so stiff when I’m shooting it, but being loose and relaxed like all the best shooters are. That’s been my main process.”
What do you make of Jalen Duren’s growth this season? Ausar Thompson: “Jalen Duren is an All-Star. Jalen is playing aggressively. Honestly, there’s not a big that really wants to mess with him right now. The one that’s close are the two backups on our team. That’s it.”
Detroit Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff singled out crew chief John Goble as "not objective" after their 116-114 overtime loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night. Bickerstaff never specified the official by name during his terse postgame media availability, but he repeatedly referenced calls made by Goble, including a technical foul and ejection of Pistons forward Ausar Thompson during the second quarter and a technical foul on Bickerstaff seconds after the halftime buzzer. According to Bickerstaff, Goble told him during the game, "Night by night, this is how our interactions are." "So, that says to me that the referee is coming into the game not being objective," Bickerstaff said. "OK? That same referee, at halftime, I get my technical foul. I don't say anything to him. I go to grab Cade [Cunningham] to get Cade off the floor. He gives me a technical foul. That's my job to get my player away from the referee, get us back to halftime so we can have the conversations that we need to have.
Detroit Pistons forward Ausar Thompson was ejected from his team’s game against the Dallas Mavericks Thursday after picking up two technical fouls in quick succession following a sequence midway through the second quarter.
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But in the back of Stone’s mind, he believed Thompson could play point guard in a pinch if needed. “He’s been playing point guard his whole life. When I looked back at his AAU footage, he was on the ball,” Stone said. “We always had him as a 1 [point guard]. That was the super thing about Amen: he’s a really good basketball player.” Stone was correct. Amen’s older brother, Troy Thompson Jr., told Andscape that Amen and twin brother Ausar, a Detroit Pistons forward, played point guard in youth basketball in the Oakland, California, area.
Omari Sankofa II: Ausar on winning 13-straight: "It means a lot. It means we come into every game focused. We don’t think less of our opponent. We come into every game focused."
Omari Sankofa II: Cade Cunningham and Ausar Thompson will return tonight against the Hawks. Cade missed three games, and Ausar missed four. Tobias Harris will miss his ninth-straight.
Brad Rowland: Pistons injury report is posted now on the B2B for Detroit... Questionable -- Cade Cunningham, Ausar Thompson, Tobias Harris Out -- Caris LeVert, Jaden Ivey, Marcus Sasser, Bobi Klintman
