{"id":106299,"date":"2024-11-11T10:12:18","date_gmt":"2024-11-11T15:12:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=106299"},"modified":"2024-11-11T10:15:25","modified_gmt":"2024-11-11T15:15:25","slug":"pistons-crucial-ausar-thompson-clearance-update-game-changer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/11\/pistons-crucial-ausar-thompson-clearance-update-game-changer\/","title":{"rendered":"Pistons\u2019 Crucial Ausar Thompson Update A Game-Changer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Detroit Pistons are set to get arguably their best perimeter defender back in short order, as ESPN senior insider Shams Charania reports that the 2023 No. 5 pick <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/t\/thompau01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ausar Thompson<\/a> has been cleared by the NBA\u2019s Fitness-to-Play Panel.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Detroit Pistons G\/F Ausar Thompson has been cleared to play by the NBA\u2019s fitness-to-play panel, sources told ESPN.<\/p>\n<p>The 2023 No. 5 pick has been sidelined since March due to a blood clot issue and will now begin ramping up and preparing to make season debut in near future. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/SVqJEoZrRS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/SVqJEoZrRS<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShamsCharania\/status\/1855977710549410120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 11, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Thompson is the second player diagnosed with a blood-clotting issue to be <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/10\/29\/lakers-christian-koloko-update-music-jj-redick-ears\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">cleared by the panel<\/a> this season, following Los Angeles Lakers center <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/k\/kolokch01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Christian Koloko<\/a>. Due to Koloko\u2019s situation and that of a couple of other players who have suffered from blood clots, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/10\/24\/pistons-why-ausar-thompson-blood-clot-issue-so-complicated\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">there wasn\u2019t a clear sense<\/a> of when Thompson would return. After all, he had only been <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/03\/20\/breaking-news-detroit-pistons-lose-duo-for-rest-of-season-ausar-thompson-isaiah-stewart-injury\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">out since March<\/a>, while Koloko was forced to sit out all of the 2023-24 season.<\/p>\n<h2>Pistons\u2019 Crucial Ausar Thompson Update A Game-Changer<\/h2>\n<p>Thompson has been sorely missed by the Pistons. Under head coach JB Bickerstaff, they\u2019re tied with the Boston Celtics for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/stats\/teams\/opponent?dir=A&amp;sort=OPP_PTS\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">eighth in opponent\u2019s points per game<\/a> (109.6). There are multiple perimeter players who have stepped up defensively, including 2021 No. 1 pick <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/cunnica01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cade Cunningham<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">FG% when guarded by Cade Cunningham:<\/p>\n<p>0% = LeBron James<br \/>\n0% = Jaylen Brown<br \/>\n33% = Jayson Tatum<br \/>\n0% = Jalen Brunson<br \/>\n0% = LaMelo Ball<br \/>\n0% = Tyrese Haliburton<br \/>\n33% = Donovan Mitchell<br \/>\n33% = Darius Garland<\/p>\n<p>Total = 11% FG (4\/35)<\/p>\n<p>On-ball defense has been elite so far. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/LIj3yzvwNp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/LIj3yzvwNp<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Pistons Jack (@pistons_jack) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/pistons_jack\/status\/1854841293719191689?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 8, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>However, the main reason that the Pistons are just 4-7 is their offense. Through 11 games, Detroit\u2019s team scoring average ranks 26th in the NBA (107.2). Despite their offseason additions, they\u2019re converting just 33.9 percent of their three-point attempts (21st in the NBA).<\/p>\n<p>One may wonder how Thompson helps in this regard given that his defense is ahead of his offense right now. While a fair point, the 21-year-old actually helps at both ends; one hand washes the other. Defensively, Thompson can take the tough defensive assignments being tackled by players like Cunningham.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Ausar last night:<\/p>\n<p>15 PTS | 7 REB | 5 STL | 2 BLK<\/p>\n<p>He drained multiple threes for the second straight game &amp; is 5-10 from deep in his past three games. I think all five have come from the corner too. Love seeing him continue to shoot, the corner trey is huge for his development. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/wTCbyLGtFf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/wTCbyLGtFf<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Pistons Jack (@pistons_jack) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/pistons_jack\/status\/1763897040562479169?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">March 2, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>That will allow them to have more energy throughout the game, but most importantly at the end. To that point, the Pistons rank 28th in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/stats\/teams\/traditional?Period=4&amp;dir=A&amp;sort=PTS\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">fourth quarter points per game<\/a> (25.2). This number might improve if their best scorers are fresher in the final frame.<\/p>\n<p>When he\u2019s on offense, Thompson has demonstrated a keen understanding of when to cut and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/10\/01\/pistons-promising-ausar-thompson-adding-game-awaiting-clearance\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">nascent playmaking abilities<\/a>. This will help Detroit, who has taken the <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/stats\/teams\/isolation?PerMode=Totals&amp;dir=D&amp;sort=POSS\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">seventh-most iso attempts<\/a> (98) this season, play more connected. If his three-ball actually starts to fall this season, he can be the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/09\/05\/its-too-soon-for-pistons-to-pivot-away-from-plan-a\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">ultimate glue guy<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Detroit Pistons are set to get arguably their best perimeter defender back in short order, as ESPN senior insider Shams Charania reports that the 2023 No. 5 pick Ausar Thompson has been cleared by the NBA\u2019s Fitness-to-Play Panel. Detroit Pistons G\/F Ausar Thompson has been cleared to play by the NBA\u2019s fitness-to-play panel, sources [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":106305,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10,1608,62,3],"tags":[4704,3965,4745],"class_list":["post-106299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pistons","category-basketball","category-nba","category-news","tag-ausar-thompson","tag-cade-cunningham","tag-nba-injuries"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106299"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106299\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}