DETROIT — Precious Achiuwa is making “good” progress from his hamstring strain but coach Tom Thibodeau said his top frontcourt reserve has yet to go through a practice.
Achiuwa, who suffered the injury in the preseason finale, traveled with the Knicks on their four-game road trip, with games upcoming in Houston and Atlanta.
“He’s doing a little more on the court,” Thibodeau said. “Once a guy can start doing stuff on the court, then usually he’ll travel with us. Sometimes it’s better to keep him back [in New York] because we can do more rehab stuff at the facility.
“So it’s a case-by-case situation. So he’s making good, steady progress. But he hasn’t actually gone through a real practice yet.”
The Knicks have a practice scheduled before Monday’s game against the Rockets.
Without Achiuwa, Thibodeau has opted for an eight-man rotation with only one frontcourt reserve (Jericho Sims) and two in the backcourt (Miles McBride and Cam Payne).
Karl-Anthony Towns’ new accessory was a wrap around his wrist but it clearly was no bother.
The center, listed as questionable before Friday’s game against the Pistons because of a “sprained wrist,” was in the first unit with his wrist taped for the Knicks, who’ve had the same lineup for the opening five games — Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and Towns.
Towns, who dropped 21 points, 11 boards and seven assists in Friday’s blowout win over the Pistons, suffered the injury in his non-shooting hand two nights prior in Miami.
“I made it happen,” Towns said, adding that he felt pain in the wrist. “I made it happen tonight.”
Towns broke out offensively in the last two games but was also lauded for becoming more vocal on defense.
“I would say KAT [has been the loudest communicator on defense],” Bridges said. “His improvement from Game 1 to now. Only been a couple games but his improvement — because you know the big is in a lot of actions so hearing him with the ball-screen coverage has made everybody and personally me just better on the ball because I know there’s a screen. So I would say KAT.”
Staying an extra night in Detroit, many of the Knicks plan to attend Saturday’s college football game in Ann Arbor between the Michigan Wolverines and Oregon Ducks.
