Under the Hood – it’s time to see what’s really going on inside this Pistons team. Firing on All Cylinders Ausar Thompson put on an incredibly versatile offensive performance last night, and he did it without making a jumpshot. He was putting defenders on posters as the roll man in the pick-and-roll. View Link He was attacking the rim as the ballhandler in an inverted pick-and-roll with Cade. Portland guarded Ausar with centers Donovan Clingan and Robert Williams III, so Cade setting this deep screen allows Ausar to get to the rim without Clingan contesting him. I want to see more inverted pick-and-rolls with Ausar and Cade. View Link He attacked Portland’s centers when they sagged off of him – this is a nasty Euro step for two points. View Link He clamped up Shaedon Sharpe full court for a steal and dunk in clutch time. View Link He put the dagger in the Portland comeback with a tip dunk over Donovan Clingan with a minute left in the game. View Link Transmission Trouble I’ve mentioned Jaden Ivey a couple times recently in Under the Hood, but he had a solid game with 11 points on 5-for-8 shooting, including a three. He added an assist and two steals in his 18 minutes as well. It was a good game for JI. However, he played zero fourth quarter minutes. If he’s still on a minutes restriction, JBB stuck to it last night. I believe so. Today is the one-month anniversary of his debut. He's played 14 games which isn't that many. As a point of comparison, Ausar averaged 18.2 minutes his first 15 games back last season after missing eight months. Ivey missed 11 months and had two surgeries. https://t.co/D4nLGI1lB0— Omari Sankofa II (@omarisankofa) December 23, 2025 The Freep’s Pistons reporter Omari Sankofa shed some valuable context when comparing Ausar’s return from injury to Ivey. Though, I wish we had confirmation that he was on a minutes restriction. Mechanic’s Note Another Ausar highlight, but this one’s to take a look at a quick set to still involve Cade and Duren in a pick-and-roll while Cade starts the possession off-ball. Ausar’s playing point guard while Duren sets Cade an off-ball screen on the left wing. Cade curls the screen as he receives the pass from Ausar to set up the 2-on-1 opportunity. Clingan plays the middle between both Pistons players and Cade’s able to get up an easy layup. View Link ...read more read less