The Piston Start 1-1 After Week 1 of Summer League. Pistons Rookie Looks Good
Week one of summer league action is in the books and the Piston aren’t off to a bad start. Playing both the Magic and Rockets back to back, the team split the first two games wining against the Magic 89-78, but losing to the Rockets 113-101. Piston rookie Ausar Thompson feels as though he hasn’t played his best basketball yet, however the Pistons are very pleased at what he’s done for the team though two games. When asked about Thompson, Piston center Jalen Duren said, “That guy, he’s a special talent.” Pistons summer league Head Coach Jarrett Jack added, “At the core of him, he makes winning plays. Those winning plays, 50-50 balls, trench rebounds, cutting, pushing the basketball, making the extra pass, sacrificing himself in some instances to cut so someone can get the extra pass on the backside, that’s something you can’t teach.”
The Detroit Pistons’ No. 5 pick already has a reel of intelligent basketball plays to his credit. It was has versatility that made him stand out in the draft. That versatility translated to the NBA. During his time with Overtime Elite, he averaged 16.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 2.7 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 48.1% overall. In addition to Thompson’s unselfish attitude, he is willing to do the dirty work for his team which has garnered attention from his teammates and coaching staff for it.. The rookie scored seven points, grabbed nine rebounds, had assists , and three blocks in his debut against the Magic on Saturday. Following his performance against the Magic, Thompson scored 12 points, grabbed eight boards, handed out six assists, had three steals, and blocked two shots in a loss to the Rockets. Not bad right? The number aren’t flashy, but they sound like the work of a grit and grind type of player the Pistons need.
The Piston take on the Raptors on Wednesday at 6:00 pm on ESPN 2. Lets hope he can continue to impress his caches and teammates and the Pistons can out with a victory.
