<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/pistons-news-ausar-thompson-major-step-return-blood-clot-issue');   ga('set', 'title', 'Pistons’ Ausar Thompson takes major step toward return from blood clot issue');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Pistons-news-Ausar-Thompson-takes-major-step-toward-return-from-blood-clot-issue.jpg"></figure><h1>Pistons’ Ausar Thompson takes major step toward return from blood clot issue</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-11-11T07:37:19-08:00">November 11th, 7:37am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-11-11T07:37:19-08:00">November 11th, 7:37am</time><address><a href="https://haydencilley.wixsite.com/hayden-cilley-s-port">Hayden Cilley</a>Hayden Cilley joined ClutchPoints in August 2024 as a Phoenix Suns and Mercury reporter, as well as an Associate Editor. Hayden graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University while covering events like the 2023 NCAA Men's Final Four, the 2024 Vrbo Fiesta Bowl and the Arizona State men's swim and dive team. He recently covered the Phoenix Mercury for The Next Hoops and PHNX Sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Detroit Pistons</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Detroit Pistons will get another addition to their youthful squad, with Ausar Thompson taking a major step toward playing. After he dealt with a blood clot issue since March, he’s been cleared to play by the NBA’s fitness-to-play panel. Thompson had the <a href="https://x.com/ShamsCharania/status/1855977710549410120" rel="noopener">seal of approval</a> to start ramping up his condition in preparation for his season debut, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.<br><br>Unfortunately, Thompson isn’t the only player who dealt with a blood clot issue. Los Angeles Lakers center <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-christian-koloko-takes-big-step-towards-return-blood-clot-issue">Christian Koloko dealt with a blood clot</a> that nearly cost him his career. Fast forward to the 2024 season, and he’s played two games with the Lakers this season. Luckily for Thompson, once he’s cleared to play, he’ll have a more expanded role.<br><br>In his rookie season, Thompson showed flashes in the pan. He averaged<a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/t/thompau01.html" rel="noopener"> 8.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game</a>. Previous Pistons head coach Monty Williams used him in a variety of ways. He played either as a ball-handler, screen setter, or physical presence inside. While the 6’7, 215-pound forward didn’t seem like a big body, he was. <br><br>With only playing 25.1 minutes, he gobbled nearly seven rebounds a game. For a rookie and for playing just a little over half of the game, the numbers are impressive.</p><h2><b>How quickly can Ausar Thompson come back from his blood clot for the Pistons?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Pistons-guard-Ausar-Thompson-cleared-to-play.jpg"><figcaption>© Mike Watters-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>It’s tough to say, considering those diagnoses are on an individual basis. For example, Koloko had to wait over a year for his diagnosis to clear. It took him a matter of two or three months before he was able to compete. In Thompson’s case, it could be more of the same. However, it could be less.<br><br>Although Koloko is seen as a bench guy, Thompson can start. As a result, the Pistons forward might need more time to condition and train. With young guys like Jalen Duran, and Cade Cunningham starting, head coach J.B. Bickerstaff might want to start the 2023 No. 5 overall pick.</p><p>Still, it might concerning for fans, and the young forward especially. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pistons-news-ausar-thompson-breaks-silence-scary-blood-clot-diagnosis">Thompson revealed his mentality</a> about getting back on the court after being diagnosed and having his season end abruptly. Even with the calm, it might be a tad concerning. Regardless, Detroit has gotten off to a solid start. While they’re 4-7 on the season, they’re at nearly half of their win total from 2023-24.</p><p>With the rebuild hopefully complete for the Pistons, adding Thompson back would do wonders. It’s a mystery how Bickerstaff will use him in the lineup. Despite that, seeing Thompson back on the court will inject more life into the franchise, and their fans.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Pistons’ Ausar Thompson takes major step toward return from blood clot issue

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/pistons-news-ausar-thompson-breaks-silence-scary-blood-clot-diagnosis');   ga('set', 'title', 'Pistons’ Ausar Thompson breaks silence on scary blood clot diagnosis');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Pistons-Ausar-Thompson-breaks-silence-on-scary-blood-clot-diagnosis.jpg"></figure><h1>Pistons’ Ausar Thompson breaks silence on scary blood clot diagnosis</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-04-15T22:27:38-07:00">April 15th, 10:27pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-04-15T22:27:38-07:00">April 15th, 10:27pm</time><address><a>Eric Vincent</a>Eric Vincent is a credentialed beat reporter for the Detroit Pistons at ClutchPoints. He has been active in Detroit sports journalism since 2011 previously working with Bleacher Report, 1130 WDFN, and Detroit Sports Nation.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>With the Detroit Pistons’ <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pistons-news-detroit-officially-clinches-embarrassing-all-time-record-bulls-loss">all-time painful regular season</a> coming to an end, the franchise addressed questions from the media about the direction of the team. Rookie Ausar Thompson is one of the many players who spoke publicly on Monday afternoon, where he commented on the pressing issue of his current health.</p><p>When asked about the first signs of the reported blood clot, Thompson admitted he <a href="https://twitter.com/JLEdwardsIII/status/1779937796125229318" rel="noopener">“wasn’t feeling like himself”</a> before the diagnosis, per James Edwards of the Athletic. He also provided a brief response about how the situation impacts his future.</p><p>“They said nothing about how it’ll impact me going forward,” Thompson disclosed. “I’m just trying to focus on now. I want to get back with the guys as soon as possible.”</p><h2><b>Ausar Thompson’s health issue</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Ausar-Thompson-dribbling.jpg"><figcaption>Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pistons-news-ausar-thompson-isaiah-stewart-season-ending-injury-update">Thompson missed the last 19 games</a> of the 2023-24 season due to a blood clot. After playing in the first half against the Dallas Mavericks about a month ago, he went on to miss the rest of the game due to the blood clot effects. The franchise was vague about Thompson’s absence until confirming the cause back in March.</p><p>The Pistons relied heavily on their 21-year-old rookie as their primary defender on the perimeter. Thompson routinely was assigned to defend the opponent’s best scorer. Despite some rookie growing pains, he quickly established himself as the most reliable defender on the team.</p><p>Detroit concluded the season last in the NBA with the worst record of 14-68, a new all-time franchise low for the Pistons. Thompson also talked about <a href="https://twitter.com/JLEdwardsIII/status/1779938689172357495">his strong suits</a> as a rookie and what he can improve on in his sophomore campaign.</p><p>“I was pleased with my ability to touch the paint, pass the ball, finish at the rim, defend,” Thompson said, per James Edwards of the Athletic. “Things I can improve on? Shooting. Going in very focused on that. If someone is forced to guard me higher, it won’t be easy.”</p><p>Thompson finished the season playing 63 games averaging 8.8 points per game and 6.4 rebounds. He emerged early in the league with his defense and rebounding. Thompson was statistically ranked in the top ten as a rebounder, staying active on the offensive and defensive glass.</p><p>The scoring improvements will be needed when he returns for the Pistons. Ausar Thompson’s shooting splits of 48.3% from the field, 18.6% from three, and 59.7% from the free throw line limited his offensive production for Detroit. Considering the lack of proven depth on the wing for the Pistons, a step forward in Thompson’s scoring prowess would do wonders for this franchise.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Pistons’ Ausar Thompson breaks silence on scary blood clot diagnosis

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/pistons-news-ausar-thompson-isaiah-stewart-season-ending-injury-update');   ga('set', 'title', 'Pistons’ Ausar Thompson, Isaiah Stewart dealt crushing season-ending injury updates');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/pistons-news-ausar-thompson-to-miss-remainder-of-season-due-to-a-blood-clot.jpg"></figure><h1>Pistons’ Ausar Thompson, Isaiah Stewart dealt crushing season-ending injury updates</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-03-20T13:59:17-07:00">March 20th, 1:59pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-03-20T19:11:56-07:00">March 20th, 7:11pm</time><address><a>Brett Siegel</a>Brett Siegel joined ClutchPoints as a credentialed NBA insider and reporter in May 2023 after previously covering the NBA for Fastbreak on FanNation and NBA Analysis Network, as well as working with Louisville Basketball. From playing to coaching to covering the game as a media member, Brett has been involved with the game of basketball from many different perspectives. Breaking the news of various free agent signings, yearly NBA Draft news and other key stories around the league, Brett is always on the phone, getting the latest news and rumors around the NBA. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @BrettSiegelNBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Detroit Pistons will <a href="https://x.com/Pistons_PR/status/1770546699359994289?s=20">be without</a> Ausar Thompson and Isaiah Stewart for the remaining 14 games on their schedule for the 2023-24 season, the team announced on Wednesday afternoon.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Ausar Thompson will miss the rest of the season while being treated for a blood clot, per <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ShamsCharania</a>.</p><p>The Pistons rookie has played a total of 50 games. <a href="https://t.co/u3C3I6uxg2">pic.twitter.com/u3C3I6uxg2</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1770547843821871376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 20, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Thompson, who has <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pistons-monty-williams-gives-cryptic-ausar-thompson-update-amid-mystery-illness">missed the team’s last five games</a>, will not play again this season as a result of a blood clot medical staff discovered. The good news is that the rookie has been cleared to resume conditioning and will begin non-contact basketball activities at the conclusion of the regular season. He is expected to make a full recovery in preparation for next season.</p><p>Stewart has missed a chunk of time throughout the season due to multiple injuries. Now, he will be on the sidelines and miss the remainder of the year due to a right hamstring strain that he <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pistons-news-detroit-injury-woes-pile-up-after-isaiah-stewart-exit-vs-celtics">suffered in the third quarter</a> of Monday’s game against the Boston Celtics.</p><p>The Pistons have lost three straight games and are 12-56 overall this season. They are on pace to finish with below 16 wins, which would mark their worst season in franchise history.</p><p>Thompson and Stewart have been regular starters over the course of the 2023-24 season for the Pistons, which means there is new opportunity for secondary talents such as Marcus Sasser, James Wiseman, and others to prove their worth.</p><h2><b>Ausar Thompson’s rookie season</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Ausar-Thompson-dribbling.jpg"><figcaption>Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Drafted fifth overall by the Pistons last summer, Thompson immediately exhibited his potential as a versatile athlete early on in the season for the Pistons. Given his rebounding and defensive abilities, Thompson has certainly cemented himself as a key member of his team’s core group, next to rising star Cade Cunningham.</p><p>Over the course of the season, Thompson became a much better scoring weapon on the wing for the Pistons. He recorded a career-high 22 points on 10-of-15 shooting in a 141-135 loss against the Milwaukee Bucks on January 20, and he had recorded at least 10 points in nine of his last 15 games before the Pistons sidelined him.</p><p>Since the start of February, Thompson has averaged 10.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 51.1 percent from the floor. Developing a consistent jump shot, especially from the perimeter, will help Thompson grow into a potential All-Star-caliber player for Detroit.</p><p>At the start of March, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rookie-rankings-victor-wembanyama-seals-deal-early-vs-chet-holmgren">Thompson ranked</a> inside the Top 10 of ClutchPoints’ NBA Rookie Rankings for the 2023-24 season.</p><h2><b>Isaiah Stewart’s bumpy year</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Isaiah-Stewart-Isaiah-Stewart-rebounding.jpg"><figcaption>Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>The 46 games Stewart played this year were the fewest of his career. Stewart did sign a four-year, $60 million rookie-scale contract extension with the Pistons last July, signaling that the team believes he’s a core part of their frontcourt alongside rising big man Jalen Duren.</p><p>Starting in 45 of the 46 games he played in, Stewart averaged 10.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game while shooting 38.3 percent from three-point range. His previous career-high shooting percentage from the perimeter was 33.3 percent during his rookie season.</p><p>Availability has been tough for Stewart this season, as he has suffered ankle, toe, and shoulder injuries over the course of the year. However, Stewart made headlines in February when he struck Phoenix Suns big man Drew Eubanks in the face prior to their game against one another on Valentine’s Day.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pistons-news-isaiah-stewart-arrested-after-drew-eubanks-altercation-before-suns-game">Stewart was arrested</a> by Phoenix Police for the altercation that took place behind the scenes in Footprint Center, but his charges were eventually dropped. The Pistons big man was <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-suspends-pistons-isaiah-stewart-three-games-punching-suns-drew-eubanks">suspended for three games</a> by the league for his actions.</p><p>The Pistons will provide an official update on his status and recovery from this right hamstring strain at a later date.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Pistons’ Ausar Thompson, Isaiah Stewart dealt crushing season-ending injury updates

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/pistons-monty-williams-gives-cryptic-ausar-thompson-update-amid-mystery-illness');   ga('set', 'title', 'Pistons’ Monty Williams gives cryptic Ausar Thompson update amid mystery illness');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Monty-Williams-gives-cryptic-Ausar-Thompson-update-amid-mystery-illness.jpg"><figcaption>3/17/24</figcaption></figure><h1>Pistons’ Monty Williams gives cryptic Ausar Thompson update amid mystery illness</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-03-17T11:53:36-07:00">March 17th, 11:53am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-03-17T11:53:36-07:00">March 17th, 11:53am</time><address><a>Eric Vincent</a>Eric Vincent is a credentialed Beat Reporter for the Detroit Pistons at Clutch Points. He has been active in Detroit sports journalism since 2011 previously working with Bleacher Report, 1130 WDFN, and Detroit Sports Nation. Follow him on social media at @IAmEricVincent.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Detroit Pistons will play their fourth straight game on Sunday without rookie forward Ausar Thompson. Detroit’s primary perimeter defender has been battling an undisclosed illness for a little over a week. Head coach Monty Williams had no update on the illness during his pregame presser, confirming that <a href="https://twitter.com/KoryEWoods/status/1769413288813629895" rel="noopener">Thompson will not suit up</a> against the Miami Heat, per Kory Woods of MLive.</p><p>Thompson was first impacted by the illness in the 142-124 blowout loss against the Dallas Mavericks on March 9th. He played 11 minutes of the first half, but sat out the entire second half due to sickness.</p><p>Detroit has been forced to make adjustments while playing without their premier defender. Forward Simone Fontecchio has been starting in Thompson’s place and likely will start again against Miami.</p><h2><b>2004 Pistons influence</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Larry-Brown-Richard-Hamilton-Chauncey-Billups-Ben-Wallace-Rasheed-Wallace-and-other-members-of-the-Pistons-2004-championship-team.jpeg"><figcaption>Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>The franchise will be honoring the 2004 Detroit championship team during Sunday’s matchup. Williams offered some insight in the pregame presser on how the current Pistons can learn from the adversity the championship team had to go through before success.</p><p>“I learned a tough principle a while ago about ‘everything you want is on the other side of hard.’ Sometimes you avoid hard, or we want to get rescued from it,” Williams shared. “Most of the time, that’s where the good stuff is if you can just stay with it and get on the other side. I think my generation, from a basketball perspective… We just dealt with whatever [was difficult]. I know personally it taught me a lot about my own shortcomings and things that I needed to get better at, grow in, and maybe if you hang in there you get a chance to have some success.”</p><h2><b>Taj Gibson’s impact continues to resonate</b></h2><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pistons-news-detroit-makes-final-decision-on-taj-gibsons-contract-amid-10-day-deal" rel="noopener">Detroit decided to keep veteran Taj Gibson</a> with the team by re-signing him on Friday for the rest of the regular season. The 14-year veteran previously agreed to a 10-day contract with the Pistons to help provide a veteran presence.</p><p>Plenty of attention has been brought to the impact Gibson has made on young center James Wiseman. Williams <a href="https://twitter.com/IAmEricVincent/status/1769424185908973712">spoke in the pregame presser</a> about how valuable the acquisition has been for the entire team.</p><p>“I just think [it’s so important], for our team the way it’s constructed, to have a voice like that, who’s conveying the message of our program and staff and his own wisdom. That’s just a benefit,” Williams explained. “Guys know his body of work. They’ve seen him play, they know the programs he’s been in, and he’s got a spotless reputation. I just think it’s a bonus to have him. He gets on the floor in practice and does everything that everybody else does. That sweat equity is huge. When he does speak, I think guys listen…I feel like every time he says something, it’s pretty substantial, and the guys respect it.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Pistons’ Monty Williams gives cryptic Ausar Thompson update amid mystery illness

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/knicks-news-donte-divincenzo-reacts-ausar-thompson-controversy-monty-williams-angry-outburst');   ga('set', 'title', 'Knicks’ Donte DiVincenzo reacts to Ausar Thompson controversy, Monty Williams’ outburst');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Knicks_news__Donte_DiVincenzo_reacts_to_Ausar_Thompson_controversy_Monty_Williams__angry_outburst.webp"></figure><h1>Knicks’ Donte DiVincenzo reacts to Ausar Thompson controversy, Monty Williams’ outburst</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-02-26T22:33:46-08:00">February 26th, 10:33pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-02-26T22:33:46-08:00">February 26th, 10:33pm</time><address><a>Brian Buyawe</a>Brian Buyawe is a sports aficionado with a passion for basketball, football and Formula One. His hobbies include running, reading and playing in recreational leagues. Back when he was a kid, Brian stumbled upon an old Larry Bird documentary among his family's collection of movies, which made him a lifelong Celtics fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Courtesy of a go-ahead basket by Josh Hart with 2.8 seconds remaining, the New York Knicks carved out a thrilling 113-111 victory over the Detroit Pistons. However, the Detroit side wasn’t pleased at all with how the game ended. Prior to Hart’s heroics, a questionable non-call occurred involving Knicks’ Donte DiVincenzo and Pistons’ Ausar Thompson.</p><p>After stealing the ball with 10 seconds left, Thompson wound up in a collision with DiVincenzo while dribbling along the baseline. DiVincenzo was visibly seen crashing into Thompson’s legs while diving for the ball. This resulted in New York getting possession, which paved the way for Hart’s go-ahead bucket. Following the game, Pistons <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pistons-news-monty-williams-explodes-after-controversial-loss-knicks-wheres-new-york-media-now" rel="noopener">head coach Monty Williams</a> blasted the officiating, labeling the non-call an “abomination.”</p><p>DiVincenzo himself was also asked what he thought of the entire ordeal. The guard made it clear that he was just <a href="https://twitter.com/IanBegley/status/1762326491835105511" rel="noopener">going after the ball</a> during the controversial play.</p><p>“I went for the ball,” DiVincenzo said, per SNY’s Ian Begley. “I didn’t look at the play (yet). You turn the ball over, the ball’s in front of you and you go after the ball. I respect everyone’s opinion. I can’t speak on it until I look at the film.”</p><p>Additionally, the Knicks guard made it clear that <a href="https://twitter.com/FredKatz/status/1762323789281366216" rel="noopener">he still has respect</a> for Monty Williams despite the coach’s postgame comments.</p><p>“You can go back the whole game and nitpick calls,” DiVincenzo added. “Do I think we dodged a bullet overall? Yes. I have great respect for Monty &amp; everybody over there. Like I said, we dodged a bullet with the win.” (per The Athletic’s Fred Katz)</p><p>To make things <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pistons-news-referees-admit-mistake-on-controversial-ausar-thompson-foul-vs-knicks" rel="noopener">worse for Pistons fans</a>, the officials admitted that a whistle should have been blown during the moment. What’s done is done, however, and as Donte DiVincenzo said, the Knicks dodged a bullet on Monday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Knicks’ Donte DiVincenzo reacts to Ausar Thompson controversy, Monty Williams’ outburst

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/pistons-news-referees-admit-mistake-on-controversial-ausar-thompson-foul-vs-knicks');   ga('set', 'title', 'Pistons: Referees admit mistake on controversial Ausar Thompson foul vs. Knicks');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Pistons-Referees-admit-mistake-on-controversial-Ausar-Thompson-foul-vs.-Knicks.webp"></figure><h1>Pistons: Referees admit mistake on controversial Ausar Thompson foul vs. Knicks</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-02-26T21:31:54-08:00">February 26th, 9:31pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-02-26T22:02:44-08:00">February 26th, 10:02pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The ending to the Detroit Pistons’ Monday night clash against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden was hectic. Towards the end, it seemed as though the Pistons were going to hold on for the win after they put up a resolute defensive stand, forcing Jalen Brunson to a missed three. But what ensued after that was absolute chaos: <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pistons-news-fans-outraged-over-crucial-ausar-thompson-no-call-that-doomed-detroit-vs-knicks" rel="noopener">Ausar Thompson looked like</a> he had the game-sealing steal secured, but Donte DiVincenzo bumped into him without being called for a foul.</p><p>DiVincenzo’s steal ended up leading to Josh Hart’s go-ahead and-one layup, snatching the victory from the jaws of defeat for the Knicks. However, it certainly looked like DiVincenzo bundled over the Pistons rookie, causing him to fall over and cough the ball up. In fact, the referees, who missed the call in real time, admitted that <a href="https://twitter.com/IanBegley/status/1762329074087702530" rel="noopener">they should have called</a> a loose ball foul on the Knicks guard, which could have put the game in secure hands for the Pistons.</p><p>“Upon postgame review, we determined that Thompson gets to the ball first, and then was deprived of the opportunity to gain possession of the ball. Therefore, a loose ball foul should have been whistled on New York’s Donte DiVincenzo,” crew chief James Williams said in his Pool Report, via Ian Begley of SNY.</p><p>If a ball is loose, then both Donte DiVincenzo and Ausar Thompson have free rein to go after the basketball. Alas, the referees determined that it was the Pistons rookie who secured the ball first, which means that a collision from the Knicks guard constituted illegal contact.</p><p>“We determined that his left hand gets to the ball prior to DiVincenzo’s hand getting to it,” Williams added.</p><p>For a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pistons-news-brutal-cade-cunningham-fact-loss-knicks-highlights-waste-picks-talents" rel="noopener">Pistons team that has found</a> it difficult to get wins this season, this is a huge gut punch. In real time, it definitely looked like there was plenty of contact from Donte DiVincenzo, although for Knicks fans, they will not mind getting a win in this fashion. After all, the Knicks were on the losing end of some flimsy officiating back on February 12, when they lost to the Houston Rockets in a heartbreaker.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Pistons: Referees admit mistake on controversial Ausar Thompson foul vs. Knicks

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/pistons-news-fans-outraged-over-crucial-ausar-thompson-no-call-that-doomed-detroit-vs-knicks');   ga('set', 'title', 'Pistons fans outraged over Ausar Thompson no-call that doomed Detroit vs. Knicks');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Pistons_news_Fans_outraged_over_crucial_Ausar_Thompson_no-call_that_doomed_Detroit_vs._Knicks.webp"></figure><h1>Pistons fans outraged over Ausar Thompson no-call that doomed Detroit vs. Knicks</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-02-26T19:20:20-08:00">February 26th, 7:20pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-02-26T19:21:22-08:00">February 26th, 7:21pm</time><address><a>Angelo Guinhawa</a>Angelo Guinhawa is a Senior Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He has previously worked for FOX Sports PH and a number of reputable sports media outlets. If he's not writing or watching sports, he's likely scouring online for his next NBA card purchase.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Detroit Pistons fans didn’t hold back in criticizing the referees following the team’s last-second <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pistons-knicks-prediction-odds-pick-how-to-watch-2-26-2024" rel="noopener">loss to the New York Knicks</a> on Monday.</p><p>Fans particularly took issue with the no-call on Ausar Thompson late in the contest that would have likely changed the result. Instead, it resulted to a turnover and an eventual Josh Hart game-winner for the 113-111 Knicks win.</p><p>The Knicks-Pistons showdown came down the wire, and it appeared like Detroit would be able to escape with a win after they forced a New York turnover with less than 10 seconds left. With Thompson getting the ball and proceeding to take it to their side of the court, Donte DiVincenzo tackled him and caused him to fall down.</p><p>Of course Thompson <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1762308865050235130" rel="noopener">lost the ball</a>, but there was no whistle and play continued. Jalen Brunson recovered the possession, with the ball eventually finding Hart down the rim for the winner.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">JOSH HART AND-1 FOR THE LEAD 😱</p><p> <a href="https://t.co/DrHX0LlY2W">pic.twitter.com/DrHX0LlY2W</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1762308865050235130?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 27, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Fans simply couldn’t believe that Donte DiVincenzo wasn’t slapped with a foul call on Ausar Thompson despite the fact that the Knicks guard hit the Pistons rookie to the knee. He even fell hard to the floor.</p><p>“Donte DiVincenzo spears the knees of Ausar Thompson, isn’t called for a foul, the Knicks then score and win. WHAT!” one fan shared in disbelief.</p><p>“Ausar got hit-sticked like it was the 2007 NFL playoffs and no foul lmfao,” another critic said.</p><p>A third commenter said, “This is like the 3rd or 4th controversial ending this league has had in the last 3 weeks, but they won’t do anything about it because the teams that are involved in these are small markets, so they don’t care about it. Absolute garbage league.”</p><p>Here are more reactions to the crazy sequence:</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">“Donte with the steal on Ausar!” <a href="https://t.co/t38zCSKfxK">pic.twitter.com/t38zCSKfxK</a></p><p>— Sham (@shamshammgod) <a href="https://twitter.com/shamshammgod/status/1762309373227946221?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 27, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Ausar Thompson on that last play <a href="https://t.co/re46FnLdqb">pic.twitter.com/re46FnLdqb</a></p><p>— Let Cam Thomas COOK 🔥 (@juanniboii) <a href="https://twitter.com/juanniboii/status/1762310227775381748?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 27, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">The ref deadass looked at Ausar Thompson getting tackled 😭😭😭 </p><p> <a href="https://t.co/84uIjPFRiO">pic.twitter.com/84uIjPFRiO</a></p><p>— Pistons Talk (@Pistons__Talk) <a href="https://twitter.com/Pistons__Talk/status/1762311013062398076?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 27, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>It will definitely be interesting to see what the NBA L2M Report say about the play. Unfortunately for the Pistons, it really won’t do anything. They have now suffered their sixth straight loss despite being more than deserving to win.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Pistons fans outraged over Ausar Thompson no-call that doomed Detroit vs. Knicks

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/pacers-news-tyrese-haliburton-breaks-ausar-thompsons-ankles-pulls-savage-celebration');   ga('set', 'title', 'Pacers PG Tyrese Haliburton breaks Ausar Thompson’s ankles, pulls off savage celebration');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Pacers-news-Tyrese-Haliburton-breaks-Ausar-Thompson_s-ankles-pulls-off-savage-celebration.jpg"></figure><h1>Pacers PG Tyrese Haliburton breaks Ausar Thompson’s ankles, pulls off savage celebration</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-11-24T18:54:52-08:00">November 24th, 6:54pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-11-24T18:54:52-08:00">November 24th, 6:54pm</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University senior from Atlanta on track to graduate with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers have gotten off to a strong start to the 2023-24 NBA season, currently sitting with a better than expected record of 8-6 in the early portion of the campaign. Although he was an All-Star last year in a bit of a controversial selection, few expected <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pacers-news-tyrese-haliburton-reflection-brutal-loss-raptors" rel="noopener">Haliburton to ascend</a> to the levels he’s reached thus far this year so quickly, and the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pacers-player-who-must-be-traded-soon" rel="noopener">Pacers have performed</a> better than most pundits anticipated as a result.</p><p>On Friday evening, the Pacers hosted the Detroit Pistons for a bit of NBA In-Season tournament action, and Haliburton quickly gave Pistons rookie Ausar Thompson a “Welcome to the NBA” moment when he hit the youngster <a href="https://twitter.com/DimeUPROXX/status/1728232078159036904" rel="noopener">with a devastating</a> ankle-breaking crossover.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Tyrese Haliburton dropped Ausar Thompson on this 3 (and then he did some skipping to celebrate)</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/Pacers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Pacers</a>)<a href="https://t.co/NWOWOTgfnO">pic.twitter.com/NWOWOTgfnO</a></p><p>— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) <a href="https://twitter.com/DimeUPROXX/status/1728232078159036904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 25, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Haliburton then skipped as he made his way back to the other end of the floor on defense as Ausar Thompson wearily picked himself up off of the hardwood. Speaking of defense, that’s not something that the Pacers have played a lot of this season, and it’s probably the reason that Indiana isn’t necessarily a legitimate threat in the playoffs quite yet.</p><p>However, on the other end of the floor, Tyrese Haliburton has led the Pacers to the best offense in the NBA so far on the young season, including a shocking 157-point output in a recent win over the Atlanta Hawks, a game in which Haliburton recorded 26 points and seven three pointers in the third quarter alone.</p><p>Up next for the Pacers after the Pistons game is a home contest against the Portland Trail Blazers.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Pacers PG Tyrese Haliburton breaks Ausar Thompson’s ankles, pulls off savage celebration

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/pistons-news-ausar-thompson-puts-myles-turner-poster-nasty-slam');   ga('set', 'title', 'Pistons’ Ausar Thompson puts 6’11” Myles Turner on a poster with nasty slam');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Pistons-news-Ausar-Thompson-puts-6_11-Myles-Turner-on-a-poster-with-nasty-slam.jpg"></figure><h1>Pistons’ Ausar Thompson puts 6’11” Myles Turner on a poster with nasty slam</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-11-24T17:57:37-08:00">November 24th, 5:57pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-11-24T17:58:12-08:00">November 24th, 5:58pm</time><address><a>Angelo Guinhawa</a>Angelo Guinhawa is a Senior Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He has previously worked for FOX Sports PH and a number of reputable sports media outlets. If he's not writing or watching sports, he's likely scouring online for his next NBA card purchase.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Ausar Thompson got the bounce. If fans aren’t aware of that, well they should be now after the Detroit Pistons rookie absolutely embarrassed Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner on Black Friday with a massive poster slam.</p><p>Early in the first quarter of the NBA In-Season Tournament clash, Thompson received the ball from outside the 3-point line. After seeing some space towards the basket, he quickly took advantage of the opportunity and proceeded to attack the basket and rise for the two-handed slam. Turner thought he had a good chance at blocking the shot, and for a moment, it looked like the Pacers big man would succeed after getting on the face of the Pistons rookie.</p><p>What Turner didn’t realize however is that, while Thompson is a rookie, his strength and bounce are unlike any other newcomer. Turner might be 6-foot-11 and an incredible shot-blocker, but on that moment, there was just no stopping Thompson.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">AUSAR THOMPSON MY GOODNESS😱<a href="https://t.co/ODbNz89cax">pic.twitter.com/ODbNz89cax</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1728222370287227354?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 25, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Of course NBA fans absolutely lost their minds with the play. There’s just no better way to open a scoring with a thunderous dunk, and Ausar Thompson really did it against one of the better rim protectors in the league today in Myles Turner.</p><p>“Yo!! Two feet yams. He’s a wing. That’s crazy,” a fan commented on NBA’s <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1728221748611416546" rel="noopener">post of the poster slam</a>. Another supporter said, “This dude does not care who is there. He’s dunking.”</p><p>“Right now he looks like he’s going to be a special player,” a third commenter added.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pistons-news-draymond-green-calls-out-nba-fans-media-ignoring-ausar-thompsons-historic-start" rel="noopener">Thompson entered the contest</a> averaging incredible numbers of 11.3 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.7 blocks per game. And with the way he’s playing, there’s no denying the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rookie-rankings-ausar-thompson-outshining-victor-wembanyama-chet-holmgren" rel="noopener">Pistons rising star is</a> on his way to superstardom.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Pistons’ Ausar Thompson puts 6’11” Myles Turner on a poster with nasty slam

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/pistons-news-draymond-green-calls-out-nba-fans-media-ignoring-ausar-thompsons-historic-start');   ga('set', 'title', 'Draymond Green calls out NBA fans, media for ignoring Ausar Thompson’s historic start');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/pistons-news-draymond-green-calls-out-nba-fans-media-for-ignoring-ausar-thompsons-historic-early-numbers.jpg"></figure><h1>Draymond Green calls out NBA fans, media for ignoring Ausar Thompson’s historic start</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-11-22T18:09:39-08:00">November 22nd, 6:09pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-11-22T18:09:39-08:00">November 22nd, 6:09pm</time><address><a>Jack Winter</a>Jack Winter is a veteran NBA writer and editor based on the West Coast. He currently lives in Oakland, covering the last legs of the Golden State Warriors' dynasty.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Detroit Pistons haven’t exactly made good on an encouraging 2-1 start to the season, losers of a league-high 10 straight games entering Friday’s in-season tournament matchup with the Indiana Pacers. Don’t blame Ausar Thompson for his team’s frustrating and ongoing ineptitude, though. The rookie wing has already cemented himself as one of the game’s most disruptive, active defenders less than a month into his career.</p><p>Thompson is the only non-big in basketball averaging over 10 rebounds per game, and ranks 10th with 1.7 blocks per game despite standing at least four inches shorter than every player ahead of him on the leaderboard. He leads the NBA by recovering 1.6 loose balls per game, also pacing rookies with 1.1 steals. The Pistons’ defensive rating dips <a href="https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/team/9/onoff#tab-team_efficiency" rel="noopener">5.9 points</a> with him on the floor, per Cleaning the Glass, even more telling evidence of the rare impact Thompson is making on that side of the ball.</p><p>Draymond Green has <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-news-draymond-green-shouts-out-victor-wembanyama-amen-ausar-thompson-hilarious" rel="noopener">already feted Thompson’s defensive ability</a> once this season. While serving his five-game suspension for putting Rudy Gobert chokehold, though, the Golden State Warriors star <a href="https://twitter.com/Money23Green/status/1727485113150361993" rel="noopener">once again went out of his way</a> to praise the 20-year-old, calling out NBA media and fans alike for not giving enough attention to defense.</p><p>“Ausar Thompson averaging 10 rebounds and almost 2 blocks per game is not being talked about enough. That’s wild!” Green wrote on Twitter Wednesday evening. “Let me guess though… it’s not points, so it doesn’t matter?”</p><h2><b>Ausar Thompson’s game needs to catch up to his defense</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/NBA-Rookie-Rankings-Ausar-Thompson-outshining-Victor-Wembanyama-Chet-Holmgren-4.jpg"></figure><p>It’s true that Thompson hasn’t received as much acclaim as fellow first-year standouts Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren, the latter emerging as an early frontrunner for Rookie of the Year. But Thompson has still garnered plenty of plaudits—<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pistons-rookie-ausar-thompson-already-proving-himself-as-nba-next-great-wing-defender" rel="noopener">including at ClutchPoints</a> just a week into the regular season— for his elite defensive talents from media and fans alike, especially considering Detroit’s continued team-wide doldrums and his negative influence on the other end of the floor.</p><p>Thompson really is a one-of-one rookie defender on the wing. But he’s certainly not the only young player to wreak havoc on defense while posing problems offensively. If he was a reliable three-point shooter instead of one of the league’s worst or even just a reliable secondary creator, Thompson would no doubt be receiving more Rookie of the Year buzz despite Holmgren’s torrid start.</p><p>Those major offensive deficiencies and team struggles in mind, though, there’s only so much more to say about Thompson’s potentially historic defensive trajectory that hasn’t already been covered. Thompson is shoo-in for All-Rookie First Team honors if he maintains his current level of play, let alone improves. The accolades are coming, basically, and he’ll be subject to more of them once the rest of Thompson’s game—spot-up shooting and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pistons-news-monty-williams-gets-painfully-honest-on-ausar-thompson-benching-vs-cavs" rel="noopener">offensive decision-making</a>, most importantly—starts catching up to his defense.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Draymond Green calls out NBA fans, media for ignoring Ausar Thompson’s historic start

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/pistons-news-monty-williams-gets-painfully-honest-on-ausar-thompson-benching-vs-cavs');   ga('set', 'title', 'Pistons’ Monty Williams gets painfully honest on Ausar Thompson benching vs. Cavs');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Pistons-Monty-Williams-gets-painfully-honest-on-Ausar-Thompson-benching-vs.-Cavs.jpg"></figure><h1>Pistons’ Monty Williams gets painfully honest on Ausar Thompson benching vs. Cavs</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-11-17T22:01:31-08:00">November 17th, 10:01pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-11-17T22:01:31-08:00">November 17th, 10:01pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan loves Arsenal and the Los Angeles Clippers, so his loyalty can never be questioned. This guy has been through enough sports trauma for one lifetime -- so he writes about it instead as a form of therapy. (It hasn't worked though. Someday maybe it will -- especially when he's been working for ClutchPoints since August 2022.)</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Ausar Thompson was already highly regarded as a prospect before the Detroit Pistons drafted him with the fifth overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft. But Thompson has done nothing but shatter expectations since then. Thompson is such a live-wire on the court, always jumping for rebounds while being so <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pistons-news-ausar-thompson-will-leave-fans-in-disbelief-over-major-revelation-about-on-court-prowess" rel="noopener">active on the defensive end of the court</a>, racking up steals and blocks like it’s no big deal. But on Friday night, in an NBA In-Season Tournament battle against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Thompson ran into some adversity leading to a benching from head coach Monty Williams.</p><p>Thompson simply did not look comfortable on the offensive end all night long; he seemed lost, not knowing where to be on certain possessions, and he was careless with possession as well, finishing the game with five turnovers. In the end, he played just 17 minutes, with the Pistons favoring Jaden Ivey and Alec Burks instead.</p><p>After the Pistons’ 108-100 loss to the Cavs, Monty Williams admitted that benching Ausar Thompson is simply <a href="https://twitter.com/JLEdwardsIII/status/1725709962184175695" rel="noopener">part of the tough love process</a> young players have to go through, especially when instilling discipline in such a youthful team is a point of emphasis for the veteran head coach.</p><p>“Any young player with that kind of talent is going to have moments like he had tonight. I can’t be the coach I told them I’m going to be if he’s turning the ball over and not taking the shots we want to take,” Williams said in his postgame presser, per James L. Edwards of The Athletic.</p><p>Ausar Thompson’s play was indicative of a bigger problem for the entire Pistons team; according to Monty Williams, the team was so fixated on <a href="https://twitter.com/omarisankofa/status/1725709729945579949" rel="noopener">making home run plays</a> instead of nailing the little things that lead to winning.</p><p>“I was proud of the fight, even when we got down. But our goal right now is to be a solid team. I see us trying to make great plays instead of solid plays, and we have to be ok with solid plays,” Williams added, per Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press.</p><p>There will be growing pains for any young player, even for <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pistons-rookie-ausar-thompson-already-proving-himself-as-nba-next-great-wing-defender" rel="noopener">someone as talented as Ausar Thompson</a>, so look for the Pistons’ prized rookie to bounce back in no time.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Pistons’ Monty Williams gets painfully honest on Ausar Thompson benching vs. Cavs

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rookie-rankings-ausar-thompson-outshining-victor-wembanyama-chet-holmgren');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA Rookie Rankings: Ausar Thompson outshining Victor Wembanyama, Chet Holmgren');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/NBA-Rookie-Rankings-Ausar-Thompson-outshining-Victor-Wembanyama-Chet-Holmgren.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA Rookie Rankings: Ausar Thompson outshining Victor Wembanyama, Chet Holmgren</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-11-15T13:16:08-08:00">November 15th, 1:16pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-11-15T13:17:42-08:00">November 15th, 1:17pm</time><address><a>Brett Siegel</a>Brett Siegel joined ClutchPoints as a credentialed NBA insider and reporter in May 2023 after previously covering the NBA for Fastbreak on FanNation and NBA Analysis Network, as well as working with Louisville Basketball. From playing to coaching to covering the game as a media member, Brett has been involved with the game of basketball from many different perspectives. Breaking the news of various free agent signings, yearly NBA Draft news and other key stories around the league, Brett is always on the phone, getting the latest news and rumors around the NBA. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @BrettSiegelNBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Aside from talk surrounding <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-mvp-rankings-2023-24-anthony-edwards-nikola-jokic-luka-doncic" rel="noopener">MVP rankings</a> and who the best player in the NBA is, the conversations surrounding the league’s rookie class always pick up after the first month of the regular season. Hey, what do you know, we are just about a month into the 2023-24 season, which means it’s time to take a look at this year’s very first NBA Rookie Rankings.</p><p>So far, the 2023 draft class has been top-heavy, with just a handful of first-year talents cracking their team’s main rotation. This is not to say that others will not get more involved as the season goes on. Time and time again, rookies step up when we least expect them to, something we are already beginning to see with Brandin Podziemski from the Golden State Warriors and Keyonte George from the Utah Jazz.</p><p>The spotlight not just on the rookie class, but the NBA season as a whole to this point has been on San Antonio Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama. A generational talent whose length is something we have truly never seen in a versatile big man before, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/spurs-news-victor-wembanyama-kareem-abdul-jabbar-comparison-lakers-legend" rel="noopener">Wembanyama has been everything</a> the Spurs could have hoped for. As the season goes on and he continues to get acclimated to the pace of the NBA, Wemby could very easily solidify his spot as the best rookie in the league.</p><p>This can also be said for Oklahoma City Thunder big man Chet Holmgren, another lengthy big man whose game is not just limited to the paint. Holmgren is a modern-day center who blocks shots at one end and then immediately hits a triple at the other. The talk all season long has been centered around Wembanyama vs. Holmgren for Rookie of the Year, but Detroit Pistons rookie Ausar Thompson has truly been the most impressive rookie to this point.</p><p>Thompson looks like an <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-news-draymond-green-shouts-out-victor-wembanyama-amen-ausar-thompson-hilarious" rel="noopener">All-Defensive candidate</a> early on in the season and is among the best rebounders in the league as a 6’7″ small forward. As he gains more confidence in his shooting abilities, Thompson may become one of the best two-way players in the entire NBA.</p><p>The NBA Rookie Rankings are beginning to take shape. While his team may not be the best, Thompson takes the top spot above Wembanyama and Holmgren.</p><h2><b>1. Ausar Thompson – Detroit Pistons</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/NBA-Rookie-Rankings-Ausar-Thompson-outshining-Victor-Wembanyama-Chet-Holmgren-4.jpg"></figure><p><i>2023-24 season stats: 12 games, 12.0 points, 10.3 rebounds,  1.9 blocks, 1.3 steals, 43.2 FG%, 14.8 3P%</i></p><p>Ausar Thompson is an absolute freak athlete. Look, I get all the hype surrounding Wembanyama and Holmgren, plus the fact that their stats are probably better than Thompson’s.</p><p>However, the eye test needs to mean something here, and Ausar has been the most impressive rookie to this point simply because he looks like he has been in the NBA for years. In fact, Thompson is the <a href="https://twitter.com/Pistons_PR/status/1724863148174328274" rel="noopener">first player</a> since Mychal Thompson in 1978 to record at least 115 rebounds, 35 assists, 20 blocks, and 10 steals in the first 12 games of their career, per Pistons PR.</p><p>Through 12 games, Thompson has recorded at least seven rebounds in every single game. We are also beginning to see his confidence as a scorer grow every night. Unlike Wembanyama and Holmgren, Thompson is not that strong of a three-point shooter. What Ausar lacks in perimeter shooting he makes up for by aggressively attacking the rim for high-percentage shots.</p><p>If you need an example of this, just look at what the Pistons rookie did against Atlanta Hawks veteran big man Clint Capela on Tuesday night:</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Everyone is talking about Chet and Wemby for ROTY.</p><p>I’d like to have a conversation about Ausar Thompson, the best rookie by far this season.  <a href="https://t.co/FRgVVRVwKh">pic.twitter.com/FRgVVRVwKh</a></p><p>— Brett Siegel (@BrettSiegelNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrettSiegelNBA/status/1724604730133917958?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Nikola Jokic ranks first in the league in total rebounds and Rudy Gobert ranks second. These are two familiar names who usually dwell at the top of this list. Right behind them in third is Thompson, which is simply incredible to think about. On a team with notable rebounding big men in Jalen Duren, Isaiah Stewart, and Marvin Bagley III, it has been Thompson who has made the greatest impact in Detroit. Despite being tied for the league lead in personal fouls, the Pistons rookie has yet to foul out of any game this season.</p><p>Between his high basketball IQ and his willingness to let his teammates succeed, Ausar Thompson has been the most impressive rookie through the first several weeks of the 2023-24 NBA season.</p><h2><b>2. Victor Wembanyama – San Antonio Spurs</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/NBA-Power-Rankings-Week-3-Spurs.jpg"></figure><p><i>2023-24 season stats: 11 games, 18.6 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.4 blocks, 1.0 steals, 43.2 FG%, 28.3 3P%</i></p><p>At this point, even those who live under a rock know who Victor Wembanyama is. The Spurs rookie has captured the attention of the entire NBA world, and there is no denying that he is likely the front-runner for the Rookie of the Year award. Wemby leads all rookies in scoring, field goals made, field goals attempted, and blocked shots. Ausar Thompson leads Wembanyama in rebounding by 22 total boards.</p><p>What makes Wembanyama such a special player besides his ability to put the ball on the ground and score is the fact that he’s always looking to involve his teammates. The French phenom is a much better passer than many would think. By the end of this season, it would not be surprising to see him as the Spurs’ lead point guard.</p><p>The luxury Wembanyama has right now over other rookies in the league is that the Spurs are easing him into action. Head coach Gregg Popovich is not overworking his young star and is playing Wemby in six-minute stretches to keep him fresh for the fourth quarter, which has coincidently enough been when the first overall pick does most of his damage.</p><p>Chet Holmgren and the Oklahoma City Thunder <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/victor-wembanyama-chet-holmgren-showdown-fails-to-live-up-hype" rel="noopener">got the best</a> of Wembanyama’s Spurs on Tuesday night, but Wemby certainly has the edge over Holmgren in the NBA Rookie Rankings.</p><h2><b>3. Chet Holmgren – Oklahoma City Thunder</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Chet-Holmgren-rookie-of-the-year-Thunder-Cavs.jpg"></figure><p><i> 2023-24 season stats: 11 games, 15.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.2 blocks, 1.0 steals, 52.7 FG%, 46.3 3P%</i></p><p>Chet Holmgren finds himself on one of the youngest teams in the league alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Josh Giddey, and Luguentz Dort. Whereas Wembanyama is the best talent on his team, Holmgren is able to adapt to those around him and fill the role the Oklahoma City Thunder need of him. So far, this is exactly what the second-year rookie has done.</p><p>What really stands out about Holmgren right now is how smart he plays on both ends of the court. Chet doesn’t force shots from the perimeter, he doesn’t complain about his shot attempts, and he has already become a dynamic option alongside SGA in the Thunder’s offensive plans. Not to mention, Holmgren’s length makes him one of the better rim protectors in the league right now.</p><h2><b>4. Dereck Lively II – Dallas Mavericks</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/NBA-Rookie-Rankings-Ausar-Thompson-outshining-Victor-Wembanyama-Chet-Holmgren-2.jpg"></figure><p><i>2023-24 season stats: 10 games, 8.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.0 blocks, 70.6 FG%</i></p><p>When the Dallas Mavericks selected Dereck Lively II, many wondered what his role would look like seeing as the Mavs had acquired Richaun Holmes and still had veteran Dwight Powell. From the very first game of the season, it became clear that Lively was going to be the team’s starting center because he adds value as a rebounder and defensive anchor.</p><p>Lively is not the big-man scorer Wembanyama and Holmgren are, but he really excels in pick-and-roll basketball. This is extremely advantageous for the rookie seeing as he gets to set screens and be on the receiving end of lobs to the rim from Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Lively ranks fourth out of all rookies in blocked shots behind the three others above him on this list, and he has already impacted winning by attacking the glass on both sides of the court.</p><p>So far this season, the Mavs are undefeated when Lively has more than five points and a block. Livley’s presence makes Dallas just a tad better offensively, which opens up a whole avenue of scoring opportunities for Doncic and Irving.</p><h2><b>5. Brandon Miller – Charlotte Hornets</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/NBA-Rookie-Rankings-Ausar-Thompson-outshining-Victor-Wembanyama-Chet-Holmgren-3.jpg"></figure><p><i>2023-24 season stats: 9 games, 12.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 0.6 blocks, 44.4 FG%, 27.8 3P%</i></p><p>It’s really hard to analyze the Charlotte Hornets and what their plan is with Brandon Miller. Featured in both the starting and second unit to this point, Miller has actually played better coming off the bench. What’s confusing about Miller and the Hornets is the fact that the team isn’t playing to his strengths.</p><p>In college, Miller made a name for himself by being a secondary playmaker and someone who could help initiate an offense. With the Hornets, Miller has been forced to sit in the corner or on the wing, only really getting opportunities when someone else looks to make a play for him. If Charlotte truly wants to maximize their rookie’s potential, they will give him a larger role next to LaMelo Ball, almost making him a point forward at times.</p><p>Now that he is dealing with an <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/hornets-news-charlotte-tough-brandon-miller-injury-update-knicks" rel="noopener">ankle injury</a>, Miller’s upside continues to be clouded.</p><h2><b>The five rookies just missing the cut</b></h2><h2><b>6. Jordan Hawkins – New Orleans Pelicans</b></h2><p><i>2023-24 season stats: 11 games, 13.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, 37.7 FG%, 36.0 3P%</i></p><p>Filling in for the New Orleans Pelicans as they deal with a handful of injuries, Jordan Hawkins has solidified himself as a key part of the rotation. As time goes on, Hawkins will continue to be a key scoring weapon in the Pels’ secondary unit.</p><h2><b>7. Keyonte George – Utah Jazz</b></h2><p><i>2023-24 season stats: 11 games, 8.0 points, 4.8 assists, 38.5 FG%, 30.4 3P%</i></p><p>Keyonte George is now the lead point guard for the Utah Jazz after recording 27 assists in his last three games. The Jazz needed a facilitator like George, who has helped them rattled off two straight victories.</p><h2><b>8. Bilal Coulibaly – Washington Wizards</b></h2><p><i>2023-24 season stats: 10 games, 8.2 points, 43.7 rebounds, 1.1 steals, 50.0 FG%, 43.8 3P%</i></p><p>Seeing over 30 minutes in three of his last four games, Bilal Coulibaly has shot 61.5 percent from the floor and 60 percent from deep in this span. Along with his defensive abilities, Coulibaly is going to emerge as the Washington Wizards’ best player down the road.</p><h2><b>9. Brandin Podziemski – Golden State Warriors</b></h2><p><i>2023-24 season stats: 7 games, 6.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, 48.6 FG%, 41.7 3P%</i></p><p>The Golden State Warriors need secondary scorers who can impact a game. So far, Brandin Podziemski has done just that in limited minutes. After stepping up on Tuesday night when the Warriors didn’t have Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, or Draymond Green, Podziemski has played his way into the nightly rotation.</p><h2><b>10. Marcus Sasser – Detroit Pistons</b></h2><p><i>2023-24 season stats: 11 games, 9.3 points, 2.9 assists, 48.4 FG%, 41.3 3P%</i></p><p>Marcus Sasser may just be the most scrappy rookie this year. He can score from anywhere on the floor and is not afraid of any challenge despite being undersized. Sasser recently recorded a career-high 26 points against the Milwaukee Bucks last week.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA Rookie Rankings: Ausar Thompson outshining Victor Wembanyama, Chet Holmgren

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/pistons-news-ausar-thompson-will-leave-fans-in-disbelief-over-major-revelation-about-on-court-prowess');   ga('set', 'title', 'Pistons rookie Ausar Thompson will leave fans in disbelief over major revelation about on-court prowess');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Pistons-rookie-Ausar-Thompson-will-leave-fans-in-disbelief-over-major-revelation-about-on-court-prowess.jpg"></figure><h1>Pistons rookie Ausar Thompson will leave fans in disbelief over major revelation about on-court prowess</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-11-07T21:20:05-08:00">November 7th, 9:20pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-11-07T21:20:05-08:00">November 7th, 9:20pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan loves Arsenal and the Los Angeles Clippers, so his loyalty can never be questioned. This guy has been through enough sports trauma for one lifetime -- so he writes about it instead as a form of therapy. (It hasn't worked though. Someday maybe it will -- especially when he's been working for ClutchPoints since August 2022.)</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>In the lead-up to the 2023 NBA Draft, some analysts questioned whether Ausar Thompson’s (and his brother Amen’s, for that matter) production in the Overtime Elite league will translate to the NBA. After all, the Thompson twins were considerably older than the other players in that league, and they also had their <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pistons-ausar-thompson-perfect-fit-2023-nba-draft" rel="noopener">fair share of struggles</a> in shooting the ball. Nevertheless, these concerns didn’t deter the Detroit Pistons from using the fifth overall pick of the draft on Ausar one pick after the Houston Rockets took Amen.</p><p>While the Rockets have struggled to give Amen much playing time behind Fred VanVleet, Jalen Green, and Dillon Brooks, the Pistons have had no such issues with Ausar. And Ausar has been quite the revelation. He has <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pistons-news-ausar-thompson-enters-kevin-garnett-territory-with-wild-rookie-stat-feat" rel="noopener">racked up steals and blocks</a> like he’s playing against his opponents on rookie difficulty, and his jaw-dropping athleticism has allowed him to achieve some numbers that aren’t quite fathomable for a 20-year old, 6’7 rookie wing.</p><p>At the time of writing, Ausar Thompson is currently averaging 12.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.9 blocks; and among those nine rebounds per game, Thompson is hauling in an <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA_University/status/1722064628417466596" rel="noopener">eye-popping 2.4 contested offensive rebounds</a> per game, which ranks tied for fourth in the entire association, per NBA University.</p><p>What’s baffling is that Thompson is the only non-power forward or center in the top 10 of that list; in fact, the Pistons rookie is averaging more contested offensive boards than the likes of Anthony Davis, Joel Embiid, and Walker Kessler, and he’s tied with the likes of Nikola Jokic and Clint Capela. On that leaderboard, Thompson is only trailing Mitchell Robinson (who is grabbing 5.0 contested offensive boards per game), Rudy Gobert, and Zion Williamson.</p><p>Thompson has been quite the marvel to begin his NBA career, showing that betting on talent in the draft process is always the most worthwhile gamble. Sure, the 20-year old wing hasn’t shot the ball well at all for the Pistons; he’s shooting an abysmal 17.4 percent from three, and he ranks <a href="https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask?q=worst+true+shooting+percentage+nba+23-24" rel="noopener">ninth-worst in true shooting percentage</a> among qualified players.</p><p>But the Pistons will definitely be well-pleased with how well-rounded Thompson’s game has been in the other departments. Once he figures out the shooting part of the game, then the Pistons may have a bonafide two-way star in their midst.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Pistons rookie Ausar Thompson will leave fans in disbelief over major revelation about on-court prowess

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/warriors-news-draymond-green-shouts-out-victor-wembanyama-amen-ausar-thompson-hilarious');   ga('set', 'title', 'Warriors’ Draymond Green shouts out Victor Wembanyama, Amen, Ausar Thompson in hilarious fashion');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/warriors-news-draymond-green-shouts-out-victor-wembanyama-amen-ausar-thompson-in-hilarious-fashion.jpg"></figure><h1>Warriors’ Draymond Green shouts out Victor Wembanyama, Amen, Ausar Thompson in hilarious fashion</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-11-07T18:33:30-08:00">November 7th, 6:33pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-11-07T18:33:30-08:00">November 7th, 6:33pm</time><address><a>Jay Postrado</a>Jay is a lifelong motorsports and tennis fan. His need for speed may no longer be on the grid or courts but has stayed with him through writing.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The 2023 NBA Draft Class is a bit loaded with talent scattered all the way to the very last pick. Their careers have yet to unravel but some all-time greats like Draymond Green are already having a hard time with them. In particular, the Golden State<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-news-draymond-green-issues-serious-stephen-curry-reminder-to-nba-on-whos-the-goat-pg" rel="noopener"> Warriors star is having trouble</a> with Victor Wembanyama, Amen Thompson, and Ausar Thompson despite it not being 10 games into the season. He unveiled how much talent this<a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1722058660547789279" rel="noopener"> slew of talent bears</a>, via NBC Sports.</p><p>“I feel a way about the Thompson twins and Wemby because those guys are making it much harder for me to continue to make All-Defensive teams” was the declaration made by Draymond Green after seeing these young guns transition to the league at a fast pace.</p><p>Currently, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/spurs-news-victor-wembanyama-kareem-abdul-jabbar-comparison-lakers-legend" rel="noopener">Victor Wembanyama is the clear standout</a> and might even gun for awards. The San Antonio Spurs’ super rookie is averaging an astounding 19.4 points per game on a 46.2% clip on all cylinders. This mixed with his 8.4 average on rebounds will surely make the Warriors star’s head ache for a long time.</p><p>Amen Thompson is also starting to hit his stride with the Houston Rockets. Despite having a small amount of playing time, he has notched 6.2 buckets a game along with 1.5 assists. His twin is also thriving with the Detroit Pistons despite some low lights. Ausar Thompson is giving Wemby a run for his money. Averages of 12 points per game mixed with 3.8 dimes make for a lethal offensive arsenal. The best part is that he cleans up the boards better than Wemby by grabbing nine rebounds per outing.</p><p>The Warriors forward is right as the league’s future seems to have arrived.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Warriors’ Draymond Green shouts out Victor Wembanyama, Amen, Ausar Thompson in hilarious fashion

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/pistons-news-ausar-thompson-enters-kevin-garnett-territory-with-wild-rookie-stat-feat');   ga('set', 'title', 'Ausar Thompson enters Kevin Garnett territory with wild rookie stat feat');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_0202.jpeg"></figure><h1>Ausar Thompson enters Kevin Garnett territory with wild rookie stat feat</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-11-05T18:32:09-08:00">November 5th, 6:32pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-11-05T18:32:09-08:00">November 5th, 6:32pm</time><address><a>David Yapkowitz</a>David is an NBA Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is based in Los Angeles and currently covers basketball at every level from NBA/WNBA to men/women college and boys/girls high school.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Detroit Pistons came into this season with renewed optimism largely in part due to their <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pistons-news-ausar-thompson-potential-starter-cade-cunningham" rel="noopener">exciting young core</a>. One of those players who figures to be a major part of the Pistons future is rookie wing Ausar Thompson. Thompson and his brother Amen became the first players from Overtime Elite to be selected in the NBA Draft this offseason. Thompson joined Hall of Fame players Kevin Garnett and Ralph Sampson as the <a href="https://twitter.com/Pistons_PR/status/1721309517118325176" rel="noopener">only rookies</a> to put up this phenomenal stat line as per team PR.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Ausar Thompson scored 14 points tonight against Phoenix with nine rebounds, four assists, four steals and four blocks.</p><p>He is the third rookie in NBA history to post such a stat line, joining Kevin Garnett (1996) and Ralph Sampson (1984). <a href="https://t.co/WhkvEQydhd">pic.twitter.com/WhkvEQydhd</a></p><p>— Pistons PR (@Pistons_PR) <a href="https://twitter.com/Pistons_PR/status/1721309517118325176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 5, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>During the Pistons loss to the Phoenix Suns, Ausar Thompson finished with a stat line of 14 points, nine rebounds, four assists, four steals and four blocked shots. Only Kevin Garnett and Ralph Sampson have put up stat lines like that as a rookie.</p><p>The No. 5 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, Thompson has been impressive so far in his rookie campaign. He has started in all of the Pistons first six games and has been playing 28.8 minutes per game.</p><p>He’s been averaging 11.0 points per game, 9.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.8 steals with splits of 36.8 percent shooting from the field, 0.63 percent shooting from the three point line and 78.9 percent shooting from the free throw line.</p><p>Obviously his shooting efficiency from the field and the three point line need to improve, but he’s been making an impact right away in all major statistical categories for the Pistons. The Pistons have the talent to perhaps make a push for the play-in tournament this season with a solid young nucleus of Thomson, Cade Cunningham, Jalen Durren and Jaden Ivey.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
7.4	3.6	2.0	0.4	0.9

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
7.4	3.6	2.0	0.4	0.9

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