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The Knicks’ center spot has been a point of concern dating back to last season with injuries and free agency departures at the position culminating in the trade for Karl-Anthony Towns.
Towns’ star play early on this season has helped round out their starting five, but with one backup still hurt (Mitchell Robinson) and another just returning from injury (Precious Achiuwa), the reserve minutes fell to fourth-year man Jericho Sims.
Though it won’t reflect in the box score, Sims has stepped up in the face of championship expectations and calls for his job, scoring among the league’s best in defensive metrics and holding down the fort well in non-Towns lineups.
Despite this, his position in the rotation could be at risk as the Knicks get healthier.
Has Sims done enough to cement his spot for the rest of the season, or will the front office look to cash in on his trade value with other options returning?
New York drafted Sims with the 58th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. He was already 23 years old and lacked a fluent offensive game, but measured off the charts with his leaping ability and was already the mold of the modern rim-running, paint-defending big.
He didn’t see real minutes until the latter part of his rookie season when the Knicks fell out of playoff contention. Though still catching up to NBA speed, he displayed a solid commitment to defense and rebounding and the tools to excel on those ends.
Sims only received situational minutes in the following two seasons, with newcomers Isaiah Hartenstein and Achiuwa taking most of the minutes off the bench. Still, he showed small improvements with the passing years, dropping his foul and turnover rates as he filled in when needed.
It was clear this season had his biggest role yet in store, with Sims even being in the mix to start before the Towns deal. He’s averaged 13.2 minutes, 1.9 points, and four rebounds on 70.4 percent shooting from the field over 22 games.
Those numbers hardly jump off the stat sheet, but don’t give a proper measurement of his impact.
First, Sims is a gifted offensive rebounder, leaping over box-outs to collect 10.9 percent of…
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Author : SNY
Publish date : 2024-12-08 14:51:00
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