With every player on the New York Knicks roster available, second-year big man Jericho Sims finds himself out of the rotation once again.
Despite being the Knicks’ most impactful center in the team’s previous six games before Sunday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies, averaging 6 PPG, 6 RPG, and a phenomenal 1.8 BPG in that stretch, Sims is now once again out of the rotation with Mitchell Robinson back and healthy.
With the Knicks’ struggles at the big man positions this season, New York should consider inserting Sims back into the rotation.
The team has a logjam at several positions, with center being included, so realistically, it would take a trade or an injury to another player for Sims to get another opportunity, despite the apparent trust that head coach Tom Thibodeau has in Sims during games.
However, his impact on both ends is too great to be settling for DNPs. Whether the Knicks make a trade to free up spots in the rotation or they demote someone out of the rotation, something should be done.
Jericho Sims is highly impactful while on the floor for the Knicks:
Sims has been incredible defensively for the Knicks this season, owning a defensive rating of 111.3, tied for the team’s best (minimum 10 games played).
Along with the stellar rim protection, Sims is also a big man at 6’10” who can guard smaller players on the perimeter, thanks to his speed and quick feet. Not many centers in today’s NBA can guard the smaller, faster guards and wings, but Sims can do just that.
Perimeter defense has been far from kind to the Knicks this season. Sims could help fix the issues New York has had in that department, and it would be an added plus coming from the center position.
Sims has established himself as a high-flying rim stuffer on the offensive end. His agility has blended really well with the Knicks’ playmaking guards, providing an offensive spark with his skyscraper alley-oop finishes.
Sims is a pure lob threat on the offensive end, but his ability to jump over defenders and get as high as the backboard is a tough matchup for opposing bigs. His speed mixed with that bounce is a scary combination.
The Knicks have key decisions to make in the coming weeks with the logjam of players. Could Jericho Sims be thrown back in the rotation very soon? Only time will tell, but Tom Thibodeau needs to make a decision sooner rather than later.
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