The New York Knicks are staring at a potential NBA Finals run next season, and one of their most important second-unit pieces could be a major difference-maker for them in their pursuit of a title.
Knicks center Precious Achiuwa has the potential to show exactly why he was brought back by the Knicks for $6 million this offseason. The Nigerian big man will have an amplified role in the rotation in 2024-25 thanks in large part to Mitchell Robinson being out with an injury until the start of the 2025 calendar year at the earliest.
Knicks’ Precious Achiuwa was rock solid in his role last season
In a reserve role last time out, Achiuwa gave New York 7.6 points and a formidable 7.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game in only 24.2 minutes a night. He also shot an efficient 52.5 percent from the floor. Next season, the Knicks will expect him to bring the same level of play, if not even better, behind recent All-Star trade acquisition Karl-Anthony Towns.
When examining the soon-to-be five-year veteran’s effectiveness in correspondence to the amount of time he sees on the floor, he put up 8.8 points and 7.9 rebounds a game when he saw 20-29 minutes 22 times over, and 6.6 PPG and 5.1 RPG in 25 games where he played in 10-19 minutes at an average of 16.5 MPG.
The Knicks may need him to play a round and solid 20 minutes a night next time out. Thus, it is well within reason for him to duplicate his numbers from a year prior while giving backup floor general Cam Payne a stout pick-and-roll partner, and the bench unit as a whole a pillar that can find his own shot in the interior and finish with a feathery touch and finesse around the rim.
Achiuwa could earn more minutes & play big when the Knicks deploy size in the frontcourt
Encouragingly for the 25-year-old, he could also be the benefactor of Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau staggering minutes with his small starting five lineup, which features Josh Hart at small forward and the 6-7 OG Anunoby at power forward. Achiuwa can play the four as well as the five, much like their starting center Towns. Thus, coach Thibodeau can, and will likely opt to play both next to each other when he wants to go big, which could offer Achiuwa more minutes, which he’s proven to do much with when given to him.
Moreso, the 6-8 talent was a surefire double-double threat whenever he saw north of 30 minutes, putting up a show-worthy 15.4 points and 10 rebounds in seven games where he averaged 42 minutes a night and 9.9 PPG and 10.3 boards in nine games where he played 30-39 minutes. Case in point, it’s typically more minutes, and more productivity for Achiuwa.
Achiuwa will have huge shoes to fill on the offensive glass in 2024-25
Crucially, the Knicks will need their big men to fill an incredible void that Robinson’s absence and Isaiah Hartenstein’s departure for the Oklahoma City Thunder has left them on the offensive glass. Robinson led the league with 4.6 OREB in the previous campaign and Hartenstein’s praiseworthy 14.4 percent offensive rebounding percentage fortified the Knicks with two incredible talents who could create valuable second-chance opportunities for them.
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Achiuwa sported a 13.3 percent OREB clip of his own once he put on the orange and blue, and if he can take that up another level or two in 2024-25, he could approximate some of the value that both bigs left on the table.
Achiuwa could have a career season as a playmaker
With the Knicks appearing to be geared for a diversified offense which could include more dribble-handoff play at the top of the key and defenses placing less of an onus on trapping Brunson out of the screen-and-roll with more elite scorers to worry about defending, Achiuwa could find himself making more plays in the middle of the floor. That will lead to him receiving easier looks around the rim when one of his talented scoring teammates breaks the defense down on their way to the rim.
Thus, things are looking up for the Memphis product moving forward and if he can make a great impression through Jan. 1, he could give the Knicks’ front office more reason to deal Robinson and entrench him as their primary backup big without competition.
