They’re PROVING Everyone WRONG… 😳 | Pistons Jack Reacts

They’re PROVING Everyone WRONG… 😳 | Pistons Jack Reacts

Welcome back to the Pistons Jack YouTube channel. On today’s episode, we’re going to talk about the young Pistons duo that is proving everyone wrong and that I believe is going to take this team to the next level next season. So, let’s get into it. [Music] So, yesterday I was listening to the Zachlo show over on the Ringer. Uh I was listening to the podcast. he had on towards the end of the episode, the last 10 to 15 minutes, Zack and Maest Duncan, who’s also another type X’s and O’s guy in the NBA media landscape. They spoke about the Pistons, their sneaky good off season. And um there was one topic though in particular that I wanted to talk about in today’s show. And Zach kind of highlighted how he was really encouraged by the play of Jaylen Duran and Assar Thompson in particular the defense rebounding athleticism they bring to this Pistons team as well as their passing game on offense and how that is going to be a real core alongside Cade for this team success. and they spoke about Jaden Ivy and how important his return is, but they spoke, Zach spoke specifically about those three being the three key pillars right now that he believes the Pistons looking to build around. Obviously, Ivy is a the fourth guy and it’s not really necessarily a one to four ranking, but Ivy just obviously missed so much of a successful season last year. So, um, Zach was also high on Ivy, but this episode is not about Ji. Everyone, if you haven’t watched my videos before, I love Jayen Ivy. I’m very excited for him to come back. I think he’s going to be a 20 point per game scorer, if not very close to it, and he’s going to do it in an efficient manner next season. But this is about Assad Thompson, Jaylen Duren, and how they’re proving everyone wrong, including myself. And this is why I want to talk about this because I will put my hand up. At the start of last season, I was a very skeptical of whether or not you could start Asar Thompson and Jaylen Duran and win NBA games at a consistent level. That is because both of them to this point in their career haven’t displayed a consistent ability to score really outside the paint. I think JD’s got good touch. You know, we see him working his jumper. I think Assar’s got the potential to have like a nice floater game and finish in around the mid-range. He’s displayed a pretty good mid-range jumper when he wants to get to it on a pull up, but it’s still not a consistent part of his game. That was my big fear is like after seeing Cade and that team win 14 games, running out lineups of Kade, Killian, Assar, Isaiah Stewart, and Jaylen Duran with not much spacing for Cade, I just I think my brain was almost I was down so bad that season, but I also think there was some logic into thinking Assara and Jaylen Duran couldn’t work together. And we saw Jayen Duran the start of last season start kind of slow. Um, and it wasn’t until uh, Assar returned and really got back into the rotation towards end of December, start of January that JD’s play really started to pick up. Now, it’s not just because of Assar returning. JD also cited himself his motor, his effort. He’s I think he even he was I can’t remember exactly what he said, but he was like swearing about his own performance, how bad it was in the first two months. So, he picked it up in his motor. But a big part of JD’s success last season improving defensively and becoming an impact player for the Pistons on both ends was the return of Assar Thompson. And those two as a duo month by month from January onwards continued to prove me wrong and I believe continued to prove a port like so a portion of the fan base wrong honestly. And I’m going to get into some numbers here. And apologies if you don’t like analytics, but these numbers back up what I’m talking about. And I think it’s important because I do believe um like myself I was skeptic but after watching it and then looking at the numbers it’s pretty clear that Jaylen Duran and SR Thompson can play together and you can have a team that can win games, win playoff games and potentially you can build an identity with these type of guys as well. The Pistons identity we we love Isaiah Stewart. love Ron Holland and we love the toughness they bring. Um, and Stu’s probably at this stage with the Pistons at least while JD’s going to be your backup big which is incredible. But I think JD and Assar bring it in a different way that like they are going to be your starters. They are the guys who um are going to play the bigger minutes and you need like Stu can’t be your only enforcer. Ron Holland off the bench can’t be your only enforcer like and Assar and JD bring that identity. Assad isn’t as like boisterous at times. He’s very like his demeanor is quite chill, but those two, their rebounding, their athleticism, Assar’s individual perimeter defense is ridiculous. And then the passing that those two in the high low game they develop offensively, it really beared out. And obviously Kade, you need a guy like Kate. Like these two guys aren’t going to work without an elite point guard, an elite type of guy like Kate. But when these two, and this is the most, this is the stuff here that sticks out the most in the playoffs, the Pistons, this was one of the best starting fives in the league, but the Pistons best lineup was K, Tim Hardy Jr., Assar, Tobias, and Jaylen Duran. They had a plus 15 net rating, which is incredible, in 83 minutes. Now, you’d want that sample closer to 100 or more, but 83, like that was the most used lineup they played. It was only a six game series. just JD and Assar together. So any lineup featuring those two was a plus 8.7 net rating. So that means they can have those two out there with any other three players. And they yielded a plus 8.7 net rating, which is pretty impressive, especially in the playoffs. So to see those numbers bear out against a team, it it was really interesting when you look at JD’s individual net rating. It was actually a negative. But when he has a SAR and when because we all know JD has some limitations defensively but he’s an elite rebounder and when he’s locked in he’s a pretty good shot blocker. He was giving you one and a half blocks in the playoffs. So when he has a primitive defender like Assar out there to help just stop like even the better like center defenders in the league like if you have primitive defenders out there like no offense THJ and Malik Beasley together it’s just like going to be open driving lane open driving lane cuz those guys just can’t stay in front consistently. So when you have Assara out there who can limit that it allows JD to roam a bit more. It allows him to be more of a shot blocker and we saw it really work on defense. On offense, JD was averaged three and a half assists, only 1.6 turnovers. And a lot of the time, he was finding Assar in the dunker spot. I think Assar did a pretty good job of like roaming that baseline. And when JD was operating up the top with DHO’s with Cade or one of the shooters in THJ, um if that DHO if he faked it for THJ and dribbled down, he often would draw the defense from the baseline and find Asar Thompson. Those two just had some really nice chemistry. And I think also Cade personally, I’m I’m all for like finding a stretch big. This team does need one at some point. Um I’m not saying they take Stu or JD’s role, but they need someone who can come in and like is like can be a stretch big in spots, but I’ve always thought Cade will thrive more with a pick and roll big like JD. So, um I’ve always been like I think Cade needs a screener. Now, of course, that screener can pop and that can be a shooter, but I think Kade with some of the limitations he has a little bit athletically, like I think he needs a a good screener like JD to hit on the roll and open things up. So, those are the playoff numbers that back that up. And this is their first playoff series. Assad Thompson only played 22 and a half minutes and he had the best net rating in the playoffs of any starter by quite a bit. He was plus 6.3. The next highest was TA at plus 2.3. So, sorry for all the numbers there, but I just want to like back up what I’m talking about with some data so you don’t just think I’m up here like spilling propaganda that has no no backing. Um, now when we go to the regular season, this is where like it I’m backed up once again. The best and only fiveman unit the Pistons had with a plus a positive net rating was the one that featured was the playoff starting group I just mentioned. And it was K, THJ, Assar, Tobias, and JD. Another big tick. They had plus 6.1 net rating. And like I said, there was four other lineups that played 100 minutes. None of them featured Assaar. So the key thing here is JD and Assar can work, but Assar is like the lynch pin to all of this. And like the big key for the Pistons is going to be, and this is why I’m so excited for Assad to have a full off season under his belt. Not only for him to develop individually, but this team with Assar Thompson is just like simply better. Even with his limitations offensively, everywhere you look, he had a plus four net rating, the highest of any rotation player on the team last year that played consistent minutes outside of Dennis Schroer. Like he just the team just wins with him on the court. And I think that’s why in the playoffs fans were frustrated when uh JB would elect to put Schroeder and like TJ or Schroeda and Beasley in and take off Assar because like whilst in theory you would think the offense is limited and that having those guys on gives you more, what Asar brings defensively and in transition is irreplaceable. And I think a big key this season is going to get him cuz he only played in the regular season as well 22 and a half minutes a game. A lot of that was due to conditioning and him being eased back into it, but some of it was I think they’re just trying to look after him overall. But I think if you can get Assar Thompson to 27 28 minutes a game next year, that’s going to be huge. And I think there is no reason to believe him and Jaylen Durant cannot work together. And I think the blueprint is there. The Pistons best lineup all year round in a series as well that they could have beaten the Knicks, especially if they have Stu back. I don’t care what people say. Knicks fans come at me. Isaiah Stewart’s playing. They win that or it at least goes to seven and the Pistons lose in a heartbreaking way. But um the best lineup was KT Assar, Tobias JD. The Pistons starting lineup next year is going to be Kade, Assar, Tobias, JD, and Jadden Ivy. The big question is can Jaden, you’ve got the blueprint there of what works in my opinion. You have Assar and JD who yes don’t have a three-point shot or a consistent shot outside the paint but what they bring you as rebounders um playmakers or secondary playmakers and of course on the defensive end with the physicality is key to the identity of this team and it’s key to the identity of a lot of JB bigger staff teams is that physicality you’ve got Kate superstar we don’t talk about him can Jaden Ivy not only fill that THJ role but take it to another level because then that’s where this team’s going to really grow. But if there’s one thing I want you to take from this video, it’s that just because they can’t shoot doesn’t mean you can’t play them together and win playoff basketball and regular season games. They completely changed my opinion of them last season. And I think they’re only going to get better. Let’s just I’m going to end the video here. As Thompson wasn’t even allowed to start playing five on five until like October, November. Like this guy is a basketball junkie and like he is like and Zach Lo going back to the podcast where we started the show like he mentioned Assar is like the guy who he might not get to amend next season because he’s still going to prove the handle but there’s the Sar Thompson leap coming no matter what there just is and him with Jaylen Duran are so key to the identity of this team especially on defense that like they are the big X factor and like if this team is going to win 50 games next year. I truly think it’s because those two takes pretty big steps forward. Maybe one of them takes a really big leap and you still have Cade Ivy comes and fits nicely, but I think it’s because those two are going to really establish themselves as like a wrecking crew on defense and just these like playmakers that fly around on offense in their own way. And I’m very excited for it. So, I hope you enjoyed the video. Let me know if you disagree because like I said, I used to not think they could play together and how wrong I was, but we’ve seen them in the playoffs. We’ve seen in the regular season and I think they’re only going to get better. So, that’s going to do it for today’s video. As always, let me know your thoughts, comments. Love interacting with you all. Appreciate all the love the channel. We just hit 7,000 subscribers. I feel like we’re only at 6,000 a few weeks ago. So, thank you to all the new viewers. Thank you to all the viewers who have stuck with me from day one. Appreciate you all. But until next video, as always, go Pistons. [Music]

Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson aren’t your typical dominant duo in today’s NBA… or are they?

Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson could be the NBA’s most underrated duo heading into the 2025 season.

In this episode, I break down why this Pistons duo is quietly breaking the rules of modern basketball — and why their size, athleticism, and defensive intensity could be the key to Detroit taking a major leap this season.

We’ll dive into the stats, their on-court chemistry, how they’ve developed together, and why everyone is sleeping on one of the most unique tandems in the league.

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