New York Knicks center Precious Achiuwa will know he’s ready to return to the court once he gets over one final hump in his recovery.
Knicks: Precious Achiuwa wants “confidence” to return
According to Stefan Bondy of the New York Post, Achiuwa wants to eliminate all mental doubts he may have in the strength of his injured hamstring before banging down low with fellow trees in the league for the first time this season (h/t New York Basketball):
“I need to get to that point where I’m able to build confidence with myself again,” Achiuwa said after collecting his 19th straight DNP in Friday’s Knicks victory over the Hornets. “I’m an explosive player. For me to be able to explode, I’m going to have to build that confidence.”
Achiuwa’s interior-oriented game requires an explosion
The Nigerian center hurt his hamstring in the Knicks’ final preseason game against the Washington Wizards on Oct. 18. He played 15 minutes in the contest before proceeding to miss all of New York’s regular season games to date.
Achiuwa is a domineering interior presence. Though he relishes in his explosiveness, he is equally as nimble and finessed down low. Last season, Achiuwa attempted five of his 6.3 field goal attempts from two-point range. The 25-year-old also hoisted 4.1 of those attempts from less than five feet away from the basket.
Doing his dirty work around the restricted area in the paint requires a burst. Achiuwa’s explosiveness will be vital toward him being effective out of the pick-and-roll, fast break, dunker spot, and wherever else Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau deploys him once he comes back.
Achiuwa figures to jolt Knicks’ alarming bench offense
New York desperately needs the five-year veteran to return. The Knicks boast the worst scoring bench in the entire NBA by a mile with their 19.9 points per game. Achiuwa carrying over the 7.6 PPG he scored in New York last season or anything near it would greatly help their championship pursuit this time around.
Until his confidence is all the way back, the Knicks will continue to rely on Karl-Anthony Towns to man the starting center spot with Jericho Sims as his backup.
