[Highlights] Ausar Thompson was an absolute menace on defense last season
I like Ausar, but he was also a menace to his own team on offense… :)
Our offense is better with Ausar on the court by 7 points, which is one of the best on the team amongst players that play significant minutes
Okay now what about the playoffs when Pistons were running 4 on 5 halfcourt offense?
And their opponents were running 4 on 5 halfcourt offense because of Ausar. The Cavs game plan in game 7 was literally, if Ausar is guarding you, pass it to somebody else.
You’re using a game that we got eliminated at home by 30 points as a slam dunk about how effective Ausar was? He creates big picture problems for the team that aren’t 100% absolved by the defense.
Also are you wowed by the fact that the Cavs made a gameplan to avoid attacking our best defender? Lots of teams have good defenders, no other teams have a starting SF that doesn’t get guarded outside the paint
Duren was the much bigger problem.
A lot of Duren’s issues were created by Ausar. Teams were effectively doubling Duren instead of guarding Ausar, which took away his short roll game. He still wasn’t great in the minutes without Ausar, but those 2 together are unplayable in the playoffs.
Or, Duren is a bad playoff performer and has been bad in both of his runs. Ausar didn’t make Duren get rattled and forget how to play ball. He didn’t make Duren play bad defense. A
I just think a part of the reason Duren was so rattled was due to not getting the easy buckets he normally got in the regular season because of the way teams were using Ausar’s defender to soft double Duren.
Yes, he needs to be mentally tougher and still play better on defense when his offensive game isn’t working, but I really don’t think that that duo can exist in a playoff matchup(especially with how much stronger the East has become).
If he starts to attack the rim and finish with the same intensity that he plays defense, sky’s the limit.
He either needs a jump shot or a better handle, preferably both, and he’d be amazing
His athleticism is probably the best in the NBA. Watching that Pistons/Magic series last year he just made so many impressive physical plays
The only player that can match him is that young dude on the Rockets. I can’t remember his name.
Edit: It’s Sengun
His name is “Air Sengun” … show some respect.
The one guy who said Sengun plays like he’s wearing diapers did irreversible damage to his reputation
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again. Ausar Thompson is a bigger issue to Jalen Duren’s success than Jalen himself.
Did Jalen Duren magically forget how to play basketball in the playoffs? The other teams were conceding guarding Ausar to keep a free guy roving in between Cade and Duren’s PnR actions.
Just like every team, every year in the playoffs transition points get massively reduced (almost all of Ausar’s offensive production comes from fast breaks off turnovers). Ausar in a half court offense is barely roster-able as of rn.
I’m not saying Ausar needs to be a great offensive player but I’ve never seen a wing player so bad on offense that there’s a tangible gravity on the floor from it.
His defense is really good. Having watched his whole career I’m not entirely sure if he’s a net positive as a whole.
Jalen Duren’s biggest issue in the playoffs was Jalen Duren. The playoffs are all about taking away what you do best and Duren completely crumbled in historic fashion. Had he at least responded by playing with more hustle, intensity or toughness, I’d be okay with him learning on the job, but Paul Reed outplayed him during most of the playoffs which is embarrassing considering his size and talent.
Ausar’s defense isn’t really good, it’s elite, and as stated above, the Pistons are actually better offensively when he’s on the court.
The debate of whether or not Duren and Ausar can co-exist on a championship team is worth having at this point, but Duren needs look in the mirror and respond in a big way going into next season.
Yes, you’ve indeed pointed out that Jalen Duren struggled last offseason. You seem to be convinced it was an effort issue but I couldn’t help but notice watching the games that Pistons were 4 on 5 on halfcourt offense sets and the guy who was supposed to be guarding Ausar was there to frustrate the pick and roll action.
If we’re being honest about Ausar’s defense we need to be honest about his offense. He’s one the best defenders in the league and one of the worst offensive players.
While I mostly agree with the sentiment, Duren’s lack of rebounding was the smoking gun for the lack of effort in my book. That could be due to frustration on the offensive end. You are correct though, I don’t see how you can play them both at the same time during the playoffs unless one of them adds another dimension to their game.
Haha come on. Duren played with Ausar all season, and did teams collapse on him more in the postseason, sure, but it doesn’t excuse how he looked like a shadow of himself in the playoffs.
I wasn’t convinced it was an effort issue, it was obvious watching the games. Duren got out-worked and out-hustled by Wendell Carter and Jarret Allen for crying out loud.
I’m a Duren fan and I think he will continue to improve on offense, just like Ausar, but I’m not blaming Ausar for how bad he was in the playoffs.
If you were expecting Jalen Duren to be some 1 on 1 spot up and cram on a 7 footer then I don’t know who you’ve been watching. Duren works in tandem off of Cade’s sets and exposing bad rotations on transitions and fastbreaks.
His offense production took a hit due to him having bad stretches paired with the defense 100% conceding guarding Ausar anywhere outside of the paint. I don’t know what else to say about this but if you think Jalen was just being lazy or weak or something then I’m not going to agree with that.
Duren actually expanded his offensive game last season in a big way becoming more than just a pick and roll lob threat while becoming one of the most efficient centers in the league finishing at the rim with great touch.
That’s why his playoff collapse was so frustrating, including his two rebound performance in 33 minutes against the Cavs in game 2… that’s a lack of effort, pure and simple.
Funny how you keep blaming Ausar for Duren’s poor play when every other member of the Pistons starting five played really well in the playoffs.
This is completely false and underinformed. Go watch Duren on 1 on 1s with Jarrett Allen. Mobley was on the bench, no one else was helping. Duren still got locked up.
Part of the reason is specifically because of what Duren does to himself. Duren creates his own bad spacing. His actual rolling to the basket was bad. His timing was bad and his location was bad.
Duren would constantly roll in a straight line to the front of the rim which completely fucked up the spacing and left no pocket for Cade to deliver a pass. Duren would essentially pull his man over to help on Cade, while still allowing himself to be covered. He needed to roll to the back of the rim in an arc so that there was more distance between him and Cade, but Duren doesn’t seem to understand spacing intuitively. Force the defender to make a choice, don’t let them play help defense and keep an arm pinned on you.
All of that is independent of Ausar and whether he was on the court or not. Ausar’s presence did make spacing worse but if you were paying attention, Duren was creating his own lack of space and this was happening with and without Thompson on the floor and with and without a help defensive big on the floor.
Duren was his own worst enemy.
Edit: Blaming Ausar for most of this is crazy work.
https://www.nba.com/stats/events?CFID=&CFPARAMS=&ContextMeasure=FGA&EndPeriod=0&EndRange=28800&GameID=0042500204&PlayerID=1631105&RangeType=0&Season=2025-26&SeasonType=Playoffs&StartPeriod=0&StartRange=0&TeamID=1610612765&flag=3&sct=plot§ion=game
https://www.nba.com/stats/events?CFID=&CFPARAMS=&ContextMeasure=FGA&EndPeriod=0&EndRange=28800&GameID=0042500207&PlayerID=1631105&RangeType=0&Season=2025-26&SeasonType=Playoffs&StartPeriod=0&StartRange=0&TeamID=1610612765&flag=3&sct=plot§ion=game
https://www.nba.com/stats/events?CFID=&CFPARAMS=&ContextMeasure=FGA&EndPeriod=0&EndRange=28800&GameID=0042500202&PlayerID=1631105&RangeType=0&Season=2025-26&SeasonType=Playoffs&StartPeriod=0&StartRange=0&TeamID=1610612765&flag=3&sct=plot§ion=game
Help defense accounts for like maybe 20% of these attempts. Seriously, go through the video box score and watch all of Duren’s possessions. Cleveland was completely content on guarding him 1 on 1, and only helped in the paint like every team does. It was the most straight up defense you can face.
Did you realize Harden stopped Duren twice in 1 on 1s?
Everything you just said… yup.
Pistons or whoever need a spacing 5 so he can act like the center on offense
Everyone wants that floor spacing 5, but there are only five or so in the league
The other teams were conceding guarding Ausar to keep a free guy roving in between Cade and Duren’s PnR actions.
It also helped that the only other offensive creator for the Pistons was Tobias Harris, who will probably post up into a mid-ranger, or Daniss Jenkins who wasn’t shooting all that great (or LeVert who had 1 good game). Their spacing was usually Duncan Robinson and Tobias Harris, and luckily Cade shot well in the postseason.
The Pistons didn’t have enough offense in general, but Duren collapsed on his own. If you’re averaging 19PPG in the regular season, Wendell Carter Jr. shouldn’t be the guy holding you to 8 points (no shade to WCJ).
He reminds me very much of Bobcats Gerald Wallace. Which is a good thing and a bad thing.
Gerald Wallace was a better shooter, which is not something you often say when comparing 2 players almost 20 years apart.
Wallace evolved into being a better shooter but if you remember, during his youth/Kings tenure, Wallace was a horrific shooter with hyper athletic ability & raw defensive instincts just like Ausar.
Hoping Adou theiro turns into this
The Theiro of Everything. And I bid you, Adou ;)
He’s a defensive playmaker. Elite PoA defense is usually just locking a guy down, but Ausar creates so many turnovers that generate points. It’s how he can actually grade out as only a minor negative to neutral in offensive EPM. Transition offense is still offense.
Best wing defender since Kawhi🧐🧐🧐
and the offence?
Still offensive beyond five feet
Absolute menace (for the pistons)
As a Pistons fan, sorry about Troy Weaver
An absolute liability in offense though in the playoffs
I’m not forgiving him for his lazy offense. And I want to stress the point “lazy” not “bad”. People shit on Jalen Duren but how many times could the defense just sag into the paint and make Duren fight off two guys because Ausar wouldn’t even cut to the basket or at least be a slashing threat. He just stood in the corner while his guy went to the other side of the court. He did nothing to punish anything they were doing
I think if Lebron was asked to be an ‘Ausar Thompson’ early in his career, he’d be an even better version of what we see out of the Thompson twins. Lebron was a level more athletic and 2 levels stronger than both of them. Lebron won’t go down as an all-time defender, but if he needed to be and if that were his role, he definitely could’ve been all-time there.
Too bad he can’t shoot. Like wtf is he doing with his spare time?
Becoming a good shooter doesn’t happen overnight. He missed almost a full season from blood clots but it seems like so far he’s spent his spare time becoming the best on-ball defender in the NBA at 23.
A lot of bad shooters can knock them down easily in practice
KD would probably talk shit about him behind his back, too.
gethigher77 shows no mercy
pure fanfiction
what does KD have to do with any of this and why would he talk shit about Ausar?
Well, if he hates Amen, he’d probably hate his twin just as much.
He didnt say anything negative about Amen
Knowing KD, he probably did.