Ausar Thompson Misses Shootaround, Leaving Pistons Bettors Sweating Sunday's Matchup

The Detroit Pistons are actually winning basketball games, which means the basketball gods immediately had to intervene and demand a sacrifice.

According to Underdog NBA, Ausar Thompson did not participate in Sunday’s shootaround as he deals with a lingering ankle issue.

"Underdog NBA reported: 'Status alert: Ausar Thompson (ankle) didn't participate in shootaround Sunday.'"

The 23-year-old forward rolled his right ankle in the third quarter of Friday’s 128-111 blowout win over the Miami Heat and never returned to the floor. Missing a morning shootaround is basically the NBA equivalent of leaving your read receipts on and not replying. It is not a guaranteed absence, but you should probably start making other plans.

This is a brutal momentum killer for a Detroit squad that is sitting at a shocking 2-0. The Pistons are actually 1.5-point road favorites against the Philadelphia 76ers tonight. If you had Detroit laying points on the road in October on your bingo card, please send me your lottery numbers.

Losing Thompson is a massive headache for a team trying to prove this undefeated start is not a fluke. He is their defensive duct tape, capable of guarding multiple positions and covering up mistakes on the perimeter.

Without him, and with center Jalen Duren also dealing with a hamstring injury, Detroit’s rotation is suddenly looking thinner than a single-ply arena paper towel. The defensive assignments against Philadelphia just got a lot more complicated for whoever is left standing.

Thompson is officially listed as questionable, but bettors and fantasy managers should brace for him to be in street clothes tonight. If he sits, the Pistons will have to dig deep to survive the Sixers before heading to Madison Square Garden to face the New York Knicks on Wednesday.