Ausar Thompson’s usage in the Pistons’ preseason opener suggested that his offensive role is expanding, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press notes.
Thompson, who signed a five-year, $155MM rookie scale extension last month, split ballhandling duties with Cade Cunningham during the first half of Detroit’s two-point victory over Phoenix on Monday. With Cunningham held out for the second half, Thompson served as the point guard.
Another promising development was Thompson’s shooting, as he knocked down three midrange jumpers en route to scoring 10 points.
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The team’s top free agent acquisition, John Collins, is the best-shooting big man that Cunningham and Jalen Duren have played with, Hunter Patterson of The Athletic writes. Collins will help stretch the floor and he’s also a solid lob threat who makes the team younger and more athletic at a position previously occupied by the steady Tobias Harris. Collins knows he has to give maximum effort to fit in with his latest team. “These dudes just have a different passion, a different heart,” Collins said. “When they play basketball, they truly have that Pistons aura, that energy that I knew and grew up with. I feel like that’s something I have inside of me, and it was something that wasn’t embraced the same way around the league. So, that’s something I’m going to have to bring back out myself and adjust to the guys. We’ve got a group of guys here who play their hearts out every day.”
Duren, who signed a five-year, $200MM contract over the weekend, didn’t play against the Suns. Coach J.B. Bickerstaff said the staff will ease him back with the aim of having him ready for the regular-season opener. “We’re going to take our time,” Bickerstaff said. “We’ve got a plan organizationally from the front office, coaches, performance, medical staff, we’ve put a plan in place to ramp him up so by Oct. 20, the first game, he’s ready to go and ready to go full speed.””
First-round pick Ebuka Okorie scored the game-winning basket in the closing seconds on a driving layup. “He’s patient and he doesn’t get sped up… He’s not overwhelmed by the moment, and that’s something that we’ve seen pretty consistently,” Bickerstaff said. “He got to his spot and got his shot. Like I’ve said before, at that age to have the ability to finish the way that he can finish, it’s unique.”
Third-year wing Ron Holland scored a team-high 14 points, though he shot 4-for-12 from the field: “I was watching a lot of film this summer, and I went out there, and when I was in the gym, being intentional about working on pace instead of just talking about it,” he said. “Putting bodies in front of me, being able to play as fast as I played, but being able to slow the game down in my head. And I think it showed tonight. Obviously, I’ve got ways to go.” The front office must decide by the end of the month whether to exercise its $11.49MM option on Holland’s 2027/28 contract.