Detroit Pistons: Rookie Review
October 27th 2023 | By Rohan Kamat
With one game out of 82 in the rear-view mirror for the Pistons’ 2023-24 season, a lot of the excitement and promise present for the teams’ regular season ahead remains. A lot of this feeling is, and has been, driven by the young core. In my last Pistons Fleet piece, I touched on second-year players Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren’s respective strengths, areas to grow in, and expectations. I will do the same for rookies Ausar Thompson and Marcus Sasser, for the second part of this article series. Some of the flashes that the two 2023 draftees have shown as a Piston - whether in Summer League, Pre-Season, or the Pistons’ first game against the defending Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat - have certainly been aligned with the aforementioned “promise.” I hope to tangibly dive into what each player has to offer and what to be excited about when looking ahead.
Ausar Thompson (2023 Round 1 Pick 5, Overtime Elite - City Reapers ) -
2022-23 O.T.E. Stats Per 36 Minutes: 21.3 | 9.1 | 7.9 | 3.5 | 1.6 on 55.4% True Shooting
Leading up to his NBA debut, Ausar Thompson has one of the more unique pre-NBA journeys to his name. Not only is he an identical twin to fellow 2023 draftee Amen Thompson (selected one pick ahead, by the Houston Rockets) but the two of them also paired up on Overtime Elite’s City Reapers team. The rest turned out to be history, as the marvelous, athletic twins won their league’s championships and went on to be the first NBA draftees from the recently formed Overtime Elite professional basketball league (perhaps setting a precedent for prospects shortly.)
As Ausar looks to kick off his professional career, there are some concerns about his immediate production as a half-court scorer. However, it doesn’t prevent him from impacting a game positively as a function of excelling in various macro basketball areas.
One feather in Ausar’s cap is the consideration that he was one of the best defensive prospects in the 2023 NBA Draft. The foundation is already there for him from a physical standpoint. Following the trend of Troy Weaver’s affinity for length, Ausar is 6’ 7” and ~210 pounds with a +5 inch wingspan. Such a measurement profile is quite conducive to his upside as one of the best wing/forward defenders across the entire league, and some of his instincts & on-court abilities match up as well. In tandem with his length, a dialed-in and attentive Ausar is a very solid deterrent right around the 3-point line (commonly referred to as the ‘point of attack’) due to a speed and horizontal movement profile that complements his length. For example, just ask Gradey Dick, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Devin Booker how being guarded by Ausar has gone.
As he is still developing and does have some concerns as a primary scorer and primary catalyst of an offense, some of the passes made and tasked for a lead guard are decently far from Ausar’s bread and butter. So when considering this and the other nuances around Ausar’s offensive arsenal, a very similar story is painted as is for Jaden Ivey: Monty Williams’ 0.5-second offense should serve as a crucial mitigant in keeping Ausar on the floor and impacting games in a positive light - while bolstering his feel for the game and acumen as a decision maker. Having guards responsible for helping him out by catalyzing ball movement and forcing an opposing defense to adjust in real-time is something that can bode very well for the downhill athlete that Ausar is (just like is the case for Ivey.) In a lineup with two hyper-athletic downhill threats with a legitimate handle and passing chops defenders must respect, the potential for generating quality looks (whether for spot-up 3-pointers from perimeter players, rim runs from big men, or Ausar being able to call his own number at the rim) vastly increases.
While a very promising ceiling and the ability to only become more polished a shooter, scorer, and overall orchestrator of offense exists for Ausar, there are already many factors beyond volume scoring (perfectly represented by his 5-tool stat line from Overtime Elite’s 2022-23 season) where he can come in and instantly thrive for the Pistons this coming season.
In each of those Alcatraz-like possessions, Ausar comes out successful in generating an on-ball clip where he has (1) the fluidity of motion to prevent separation and avoid getting beat off the dribble, (2) the standing reach to prevent a favorable gap in release point and/or deflect the ball, and (3) the horizontally extended wing-span to prevent an opposing player from dribbling decently ‘far’ from him.
This holistic tool-kit gives Ausar significant upside as an on-ball defender in tandem with his biggest value-add: as a defensive playmaker. Steals and blocks are far from the end-all, be-all in terms of evaluating aggregate defensive ‘impact,’ but they are great indicators of defensive playmaking and paint Ausar as great in this regard. Whether it is a result of stifling his defensive assignment or reading a defense off the ball en route to a timely play, Ausar racks up steals and blocks quite often and has a high revving motor while flying over the half-court to do so. Sometimes, being too trigger-happy can be a double-edged sword, as ‘gambling’ through an overshoot/mistimed reaction and ending up out of position can be detrimental from a team defense standpoint due to a ‘4 vs. 5’ disadvantage being present and easy to exploit. Like most prospects and younger players, becoming a more disciplined and movement-efficient defender is vital for Ausar to demonstrate if he ought to reach his ceiling on that end of the floor. One further area that could vault Ausar’s defense from good to great in the context of NBA defense is how well he can tread water as an off-ball defender. Much more than playing passing lanes, being able to defend a much better talent pool of players who mostly have a much better deployment and a better understanding of team offense - compared to that of Overtime Elite’s talent pool - pertains (1) being able to chase off the ball, (2) recover outwards to shooters, (3) send appropriate and well-timed help defense, and (4) deter movements towards/shots around the rim. Ausar has certainly flashed within these areas, but being able to continuously reinforce these and execute more often is what helps the cream of the crop defenders rise to the top and separate themselves. As he continues to become more polished and get more reps, Ausar could get to these heights in the future and has a ceiling as the best defensive forward in the entire NBA.
On the offensive side of things, Ausar has things to clean up as a scorer - particularly away from the basket. Last season for Overtime Elite, Ausar only converted his 3-point jumpers at a 30.5% clip - with mid-range shooting numbers that are by no means stellar either. Today's NBA features much more spacing and the ability for teams to sag off lesser shooters (being able to clog inwards motion and muck up a team’s strategies to get towards the paint as a result,) being able to have a respectable outside jump-shot is imperative to develop. At that, there certainly are tactical steps that can be taken at the team level to deploy a less proficient shooter beyond the 3-point arc while still having them being a positive value player or better on offense. Some of these tools are certainly present with Ausar Thompson, as one of his other prominent selling points as a prospect is his athleticism - which could very well play itself out when it comes to Ausar’s ability to score at the rim. In spite of playing with less sophisticated offensive tactics and spacing, Ausar shot 65.4% on baskets at the rim in the 2022-23 Overtime Elite season. A fair share of this scoring efficiency was a function of great transition play, effective cutting toward the basket, and value scoring off of putbacks. In OTE, Ausar was a phenomenal rebounder - an area that has translated superbly as a Piston in preseason and summer league play thus far. Having a high motor on rebounds and positional awareness serves as an underrated marginal factor towards winning, especially for a player like Ausar: one who is no stranger to ‘grabbing and going,’ resulting in the ability to convert rebounds into a quick transition field goal for himself or a teammate. Circling back to Ausar’s very impressive ‘defensive playmaking,’ one of the biggest advantages to doing such successfully is being able to turn defense into offense while exploiting a scrambling, unset defense en route to efficient transition opportunities.
Last but certainly not least, Ausar brings a very proficient passing ability (all the more so for a 20-year-old and for a wing, let alone both!) With decent upper body strength and a pretty solid handle, Ausar has showcased the ability to hit pretty difficult passes with impressive velocity and ball placement. While his twin brother, Amen, was more or less the de-facto point guard for OTE’s City Reapers, Ausar was certainly an effective and cerebral passer when utilized as a ‘ball mover’ and one tasked to make a decision within the flow of offense (especially the case as a passer in transition.)
Marcus Sasser (2023 Round 1 Pick 25, University of Houston) -
2022-23 College Stats Per 40 Minutes: 21.8 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 2.1 | 0.2 on 59.7% True Shooting
Being picked as a late first-rounder at the age of 22, Marcus Sasser hasn't been getting a lot of buzz in comparison to other draftees in the 2023 class. In spite of his production and statistical profile as one of the best NCAA players last season (through various ‘advanced’ metrics - such as Basketball Index’s’ LEBRON’ and Basketball Reference’s Box Plus-Minus,) Sasser was a later-first-round pick. This could be seen as a function of his age and the mere theory of less bandwidth for a higher ceiling prospect and the ‘development’ associated with it.
With that in mind, Sasser’s maturity, particular skill sets, and pedigree of driving winning for one of the NCAA’s most accomplished programs in recent memory give him an interesting profile. As a bit of a bold take, it would not surprise me if Sasser can end up as an impactful ‘swing player’ this coming season for Detroit either as a starter or bench piece - one who adds value and does the little things right, and with pride, on both sides of the court. In his already accrued career, Sasser being able to fit the commonly regarded “3 and D guard” archetype like a glove worked out rather well for his Houston Cougar team. 3-point jump shots were a prevalent point of Sasser’s shot diet in the 2022-23 NCAA Basketball season, representing 57.6% of his total attempts from the field. Being the leading 3-point taker on his team by three attempts a game, Sasser converted at a 38.4% clip. This included a very impressive 46% mark on 122 catch-and-shoot attempts.
Listed as a point guard, this particular ability from Sasser makes him playable as a de-facto shooting guard. On a team with a rather formidable core of players when it comes to playmaking/passing creation, having the threat as an off-ball scorer and a floor spacer (in tandem with one another) makes Sasser a great fit alongside any guard on the Pistons’ roster. However, the 3-point skillset is far from where Sasser’s value starts and ends on the offensive side of things. While not quite doing so at volume, Sasser has an effective scoring game from the ‘floater range’ (eg. around ~ 7 to 10 feet from the basket) which gives him the ability to attack defenders adamant on closing out his 3-point attempts tightly. On such attempts in his college career, Sasser shot 18/38 - making floaters an effective scoring counter for his offensive arsenal. When thinking of his abilities inside the arc, Sasser shot a decent 61.4% from the field on at-the-rim layup attempts while showcasing some semblance of an ability to get downhill. In contrast to other point guard prospects, Sasser has been less involved as a playmaker and on-ball creator for teammates. He certainly is a capable passer and able to orchestrate the pick and roll, but seldom finds himself making the more advanced reads some of the top deciles of NBA playmakers execute upon.
However, the latter should serve as a moot point when considering his holistic offensive skill set and the Pistons’ roster construction. The more than capable passing ability along with a very central emphasis on 3-point shotmaking & floor-spacing as well as the ability to score from different spots makes Sasser one who could hold a lot of value deployed as a connector rather than a lead guard. As Sasser looks to make himself more dangerous and compete for more minutes per game throughout the season, look for him to make continuous improvement toward his abilities of on-ball passing creation and off-ball movement coupled with his already great shooting talents. The more dimensions present for Sasser, the more damage he can inflict on defenses with Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey as back-court partners.
To further reinforce his value as a seamless fitting piece across various lineups, Sasser is an effortful defender with value as an on-ball stopper. To no surprise based on what we know about Weaver’s preference for building a roster, Sasser is 6’2” and ~200 lbs with a +5 inch wing-span. This stature gives him a very formidable foundation towards being a positive-value defender sooner than later, where he certainly has leveraged his physical tools at Houston to contest shots and make life miserable for opposing ball handlers (as seen below on film.)
The rock-solid displays of strength and tenacity are complimented by a very hands-on (literally) approach to fighting for loose balls or forcing deflections as a primary defender. With this and his ability to make some smart off-ball rotations considered, there is a path for Sasser to hold off-ball utility as a defender too. As he hopes to show some value on the defensive side, Sasser could improve in a few areas - particularly chasing shooters around the perimeter and being able to seamlessly navigate/get around screens.
When thinking of skill sets and value propositions that contending hopefuls and prior title winners from recent memory have had from top to bottom after the superstar level (in other terms, across their rotation of role players,) being able to thrive off-the-ball and act quickly with conviction when given the ball and treading water on defense - at a minimum - have helped various role players do the little things that impact winning in a big way and fit very well alongside superstar talents. As the Pistons hope to jump to this category through continuous, long-run improvements, Sasser’s claim to fame could very well end up being this precise ‘connective’ tissue - on both sides of the floor. The proof of concept, that Sasser has delivered in this role at Houston, gives me a lot of hope he can sustainably crack the rotation and see his minutes uptick month-by-month this coming season in itself.