CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Six weeks after Precious Achiuwa was shelved with a hamstring strain, the backup big broke his silence and revealed the final hurdle before his long-awaited return.
“I need to get to that point where I’m able to build confidence with myself again,” Achiuwa said after collecting his 19th straight DNP in Friday’s Knicks victory over the Hornets. “I’m an explosive player. For me to be able to explode, I’m going to have to build that confidence.”
Achiuwa, who was ruled out for Sunday’s game against New Orleans, said he doesn’t know when that will happen, but he’s practicing full contact and remains “day to day.”
After Sunday, the Knicks play at home Tuesday (Orlando), Thursday (Charlotte) and Saturday (Detroit).
“Once I get to that point where I feel like I’m optimal to play, I’ll be out there playing,” Achiuwa said.
The recovery has taken longer than the Knicks originally indicated.
Achiuwa, 25, suffered the strain in the preseason finale on Oct. 18, and was given a “2-4 week” window before reevaluation.
It was the only official update or timeline provided by the Knicks until coach Tom Thibodeau said Achiuwa was cleared to practice during last week’s road trip.
“I mean, it’s been a very long process,” Achiuwa said. “It’s tough. Any player would want to be out there playing, especially seeing the game and knowing there’s things that you probably could do out there. That’s the toughest part of this.”
In Achiuwa’s absence, the Knicks (11-8) have mostly utilized an eight-man rotation that leaned heavily on the starters with Jericho Sims as the lone frontcourt reserve.
Achiuwa is more of a power forward than a center and, unlike Sims, elicits the confidence from Thibodeau to be in the same lineups as Karl-Anthony Towns.
His presence might help with the glaring issues protecting the rim that are occurring with Towns at center.
Achiuwa led the Knicks last season in blocks per 36 minutes at 1.7 — which was even higher than averages for Mitchell Robinson or Isaiah Hartenstein.
Achiuwa, who can also knock down an occasional 3-pointer, was one of the better Knicks performers in preseason before his injury.
“I think one of my biggest gifts is defensive versatility, being able to guard multiple positions 1-through-5,” Achiuwa said. “For me, coming back, we’re already probably the best offense in the league right now. So how can I add onto the team on the defensive end and being able to make us elite on that side? I think we do have the potential to be elite defensively.”
The Knicks entered the weekend at No. 24 in defensive rating, according to NBA.com, which would represent the worst finish since Thibodeau took over the team.
Sims boasts the team’s top individual defensive rating, a testament to his ability to guard on the perimeter and at least partially because he never shares the court with Towns.
Offensively, however, Sims is limited exclusively to screening and dunking.
The 26-year-old said recently that he’s capable of more but understands it’s not his role.
“Growing up, I’ve done different things. I’m a pro basketball player and I think that’s what people tend to forget,” Sims said. “Guys can do certain things that maybe they aren’t exposed to as much throughout the game because that’s not their role at the time. So that’s all it is.
“Obviously, our offense is already really good, so me coming in, my mentality is just to work as hard as I can and check off all the boxes and knock down my assignments and whatnot, whether that’s defensively or getting guys open,” Sims added. “I like to set hard screens for [Brunson] when he’s in the game.”
Achiuwa and Sims are both free agents after the season.
