Detroit Pistons Will Miss Multiple Key Players vs. Miami Heat
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In Friday’s game against the Miami Heat, the Detroit Pistons will approach the matchup without two vital rotational players, including a starter once again.
To no surprise, Detroit will not have the young rookie Ausar Thompson on the court against the Heat. Lately, Thompson has been dealing with an asthma-related illness, which took him out of a matchup early last weekend.
As the Pistons approached the following game against the Charlotte Hornets, Thompson was downgraded to questionable before getting ruled out. The March 11 game against the Hornets ended up becoming Thompson’s first absence of the season.
Unfortunately, the trend continued on Wednesday night when the Pistons took on the Toronto Raptors. Once again, Thompson approached the matchup as questionable but found himself downgraded to out a few hours beforehand.
Prior to Wednesday’s game against the Raptors, Pistons head coach Monty Williams mentioned the team would formally address the rookie’s absence in due time.
Heading into Friday’s game, the Pistons wasted no time making the early call on Thompson’s status. As expected, the rookie has been ruled out. Therefore, he’ll miss his third game in a row.
This season, Thompson has appeared in 63 games for Detroit. The first-rounder had some stints coming off the bench, but he started in more than half of his appearances. During that time, Thompson averaged nine points, six rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block.
Beyond the rookie defensive standout, the Pistons will also be without one of their key substitutes, as the veteran Quentin Grimes has been downgraded for Friday night. As he deals with lingering knee soreness, Grimes catches a break after appearing in the team’s previous two outings.
Since landing with the Pistons from the New York Knicks, Grimes dealt with a knee injury, which prevented him from debuting for the first five games of his tenure with the team. When he finally debuted on February 24, Grimes’ presence would last four games before he faced another extended absence.
This week, Grimes appeared in both games for the Pistons, totaling 36 minutes off the bench across both matchups. Lately, the former Knick has struggled to find consistency with his shot. Since landing with the Pistons, Grimes has averaged 21 percent from the field while making just 14 percent of his threes.
There’s still plenty of time left in the season for Grimes to get back on the right track and make an impact on a young Pistons team this year. Unfortunately, Grimes will continue to deal with inconsistent availability as he’ll miss his fifth game in seven matchups on Friday.
