Jericho Sims was tabbed as the New York Knicks’ backup center to start the season thanks to the injuries to Precious Achiuwa and Mitchell Robinson. Achiuwa has since returned to the floor, and Robinson is not too far behind him, but it would appear that Sims is now out of Tom Thibodeau’s rotation for the foreseeable future.
Jericho Sims was a healthy DNP on Monday
In Monday’s 113-108 victory over the Raptors, Sims was a healthy DNP as Achiuwa took over duties as the backup big man behind Karl-Anthony Towns. This follows a performance against the Detroit Pistons in which Sims played only six minutes after starting the game with Towns out and having a disastrous outing. In the game before that against the Hornets, Sims only played three minutes despite the Knicks winning by double digits.
Achiuwa scored seven points in 16 minutes and he also grabbed six rebounds and blocked two shots in the game against the Pistons. Achiuwa is likely on some sort of minutes restriction as he ramps up his workload after missing the first 21 games of the season with a hamstring strain, which only amplifies the level of misfortune they have had with Sims on the floor.
Sims has not been impactful offensively for the Knicks
It has been an up-and-down season for the fourth-year center. He has quietly been an interior force on the defensive side of the ball, which has helped the Knicks with their rim protection woes in Robinson’s absence. However, his limitations on the offensive side have made him a detriment to the team. Sims is mostly useful for lobs and putback dunks, and is a serviceable screener but has a tendency to set illegal screens.
On the season, he is averaging just 1.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. In his last seven appearances, he has scored a total of just nine points. It is unclear if Thibodeau will simply run an eight-man rotation without Sims until Robinson returns, but it would appear that Sims has lost his opportunity to prove himself capable of maintaining a rotation spot.
