The 2023-24 NBA season has been a disaster for the Detroit Pistons. They set the record for the longest losing streak in league history earlier in the season, falling woefully short of even the most modest of expectations they had this season.
With a record of 12-56, the Pistons currently have the second-worst record in the NBA, ahead of only the Washington Wizards. It would be fair to imagine things couldn’t get worse for Detroit, but they somehow have.
On Wednesday, it was announced that rookie Ausar Thompson would miss the remaining 14 games of the regular season because he will be treated for a blood clot. As shared by Field Level Media on ESPN, Thompson has been cleared to resume conditioning, but non-contact basketball activities won’t begin until the regular season is over.
The good news for Thompson is that this isn’t expected to be a long-term thing and he should be ready to go for the start of the 2024-25 NBA regular season. He will end his rookie season averaging 8.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.1 steals in 25.1 minutes per game. Thompson appeared in 63 games as a rookie, starting 38 of them.
NBA NEWS & SCORES: Ausar Thompson, Isaiah Stewart, Detroit Pistons Updates
The team loves the two-way ability that he brings to the court, as he is already a stout defender and hits the boards well for a wing player. But, he will need to work on his jump shot to reach that next level in the NBA.
During his rookie campaign, Thompson shot only 18.6 percent from 3-point range and 59.7 percent from the foul line. Until he can fix those numbers, he will be a hard person for Monty Williams to rely on for heavy minutes on the wing.
Unfortunately for the Pistons, Thompson isn’t the only player who will be sidelined for the remainder of the season. They announced that Isaiah Stewart will also miss the remainder of the regular season because of a right hamstring strain.
Stewart suffered the injury in the third quarter of the team’s 114-94 loss to the Boston Celtics on Monday night. This could be a good chance for one of the other players on the Pistons to showcase his abilities over the final few weeks of the 2023-24 NBA regular season.
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