At 8-6, the New York Knicks need all of their troops in order to reach their potential this season. Precious Achiuwa is one of their most important pieces. Yet, he has not touched the floor this year due to a hamstring injury suffered in preseason. However, that could change in the Knicks’ upcoming five-game slate.
Knicks could finally get Precious Achiuwa back to revive abysmal bench
Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News revealed on Monday that Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau is expecting his vaunted bench producer to join the team on their upcoming road trip, leaving the door open on his potential return to action (h/t Bolavip’s Ignacio Cairola).
The Knicks bench is currently laboring through the campaign. They are the lowest-scoring second unit in the Association at 20.4 points per game. There are 24 teams in the league whose benches are putting up at least 30 PPG.
- Knicks could be facing problematic injury with key bench scorer
- Knicks being investigated for potential violation of league’s salary cap rules
- Knicks have found their spark plug off the bench
Achiuwa’s return could cause a Knicks surge
That goes to show how much New York needs Achiuwa back. Last season, the Nigerian big had his most definitive campaign to date. He averaged 7.6 PPG, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per night on 52.5 percent shooting from the field in a Knicks uniform. His impact was felt beyond his numbers and his ability to keep the flow of the offense in motion with his nimble touch and skill in putting the ball on the floor will work wonders for the Knicks when he returns.
Achiuwa’s first chance to retake the court will come on Wednesday when the Knicks travel to Phoenix to take on the Suns in primetime. The last game of their five-game set will come on Nov. 29 against the Charlotte Hornets.
