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 Thompson will not suit up against the Miami Heat, per Kory Woods of MLive.
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.
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.
2004 Pistons influence
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.
“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.”
Taj Gibson's impact continues to resonate
Detroit decided to keep veteran Taj Gibson 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.
Plenty of attention has been brought to the impact Gibson has made on young center James Wiseman. Williams spoke in the pregame presser about how valuable the acquisition has been for the entire team.
“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.”
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