It was as if Ausar Thompson had seen enough.
Chicago Bulls guard Zach Lavine, one of the NBA’s most dynamic scorers, scored against every opponent for most of the Detroit Pistons’ home opener Saturday night. He had 39 points in three quarters, and with a breakaway dunk at 8:33 of the fourth quarter, Lavine had 49 points and it looked like the Pistons had no answers.
That’s when Thompson flipped the switch.
At 5:56, the Detroit Pistons rookie forced a Lavine turnover.
On the Bulls’ next possession, Thompson forced a miss from Lavine. A few possessions later, Thompson blocked Lavine’s 17-foot attempt. Lavine would eventually finish with 51 points, but Thompson’s late-game defense lifted the Pistons to a 118-102 victory in front of a raucous, sold-out crowd at LCA.
Pistons owner Tom Gores sat courtside watching the defensive performance. He also attended the season opener in Miami, where he witnessed a close loss to the Eastern Conference representative in last season’s NBA Finals.
After finishing with the worst record in the league last season, the Pistons have played surprisingly well during their 2-1 start, and Gores is encouraged by what he’s seen so far from the young team and the defensive approach of new coach Monty Williams. .
The Pistons are sixth in defensive rating, allowing 102.7 points per 100 possessions, and are currently one of the best rebounding teams in the league.
“I think it’s important because the defense is controlled, but the offense isn’t,” Gores told the media before the game. “We have great evenings filming; we have bad shooting nights, but defense is something you can check off. This has to be a must-have for us. Even though the NBA is all about points, shots, etc., ultimately you have to play defense. I think it’s important, it’s a priority.
Gores touched on several other topics during the 10-minute session with reporters.
(On the first Pistons games): “I like their tenacity. I think the way they came back to Miami says a lot about them. I don’t think they let bad times get to them. Defensive mentality and presence are a good start. I think these young men grew up pretty quickly. To me, they are wise beyond their years and I am very impressed.
(On expectations): “I’m not sure I expected it so soon.” Monty made a difference very quickly. He threads the needle everywhere and he knows how to show discipline and also knows how to show compassion.
(On his message before the season): “I know we are a young team, but that’s no excuse. No one should impose limits on you. The only person who imposes limits on you is yourself. Do you want to surpass what everyone thinks? We have an excellent base. We don’t rebuild, we build.
(On what constitutes success for the season): “I want to see us compete and see that our priorities are defense and hard work. My expectations are not as high as theirs. They have high expectations, and if you talk to (general manager Troy Weaver), he has high expectations, too. I expect them to approach every game with no limits, that we compete and work hard, and we will see what the result is.
(On patience this season): “Patience is great. We wouldn’t bring in someone like Monty if we had a group of players who weren’t ready. It took us a little time to create this foundation.
(On Troy Weaver and culture): “I think Troy did a really incredible job. When it came in, there were a lot of moving parts. The culture is very good. You won’t find a better locker room than the one we have. We have a group of selfless players. I think we are on the right track. Troy has put us in a position where we have a lot of room. If you remember our cap space, just three or four years ago we were stuck. We not only have a foundation, we have freedom.
(On the Detroit schedule): I think it takes time if you really want to develop something that is sustainable in the long term. I probably wanted to win too early. I love Detroit, that’s where I’m from. There’s a part of me that didn’t just want to please the fans. I wanted to achieve a winning culture, but I’m not sure I would do it any differently. Sometimes, to do things well, you have to do them badly. We brought great people. We have (vice president Arn Tellem). What we are consistent on is that we bring good leaders to Detroit. We brought Monty. If there’s a rhythm you see, it’s that we can sell out Detroit. Whether it’s Monty, whether it’s Stan Van Gundy, whether it’s Dwane Casey, whether it’s Arn Tellem, if we can sell Detroit, the organization is built with the best people and now we have to win.
(Why culture is important): “People think culture is what you feel. I think culture is how you do things. You decide that you are selfless. It’s a culture. When you decide that one of the players is going through a tough time and the other player picks them up. It’s culture. So culture, for me, is an approach and, in difficult times, the way we raise people. This is our way of acting. It simply involves doing the work. I think we have a group that is doing the right thing, I really do.
