Knicks Forward Opens Up About Recovery

The New York Knicks might get to unwrap an early Christmas gift.

New York may finally be on the verge of getting one of their top reserves back: though Precious Achiuwa has already been ruled out for Sunday evening’s visit from the New Orleans Pelicans (6 p.m. ET, MSG), Stefan Bondy of the New York Post has reported that the reserve interior threat reports that he is now considered “day-to-day.”

Achiuwa, who has yet to take the floor in this regular season, spoke about his continuing rehab stemming from a hamstring issue sustained in the team’s preseason finale in October. He was re-signed by the Knicks in the late stages of the offseason after it was clear they’d be missing Isaiah Hartenstein and Mitchell Robinson but things have yet to pan out as the team envisioned.

“I need to get to that point where I’m able to build confidence with myself again,” Achiuwa said. ““I need to get to that point where I’m able to build confidence with myself again.”

Despite his relatively brief metropolian tenure, the Knicks are well-versed in exactly what Achiuwa’s explosiveness entails: he and OG Anunoby came over in a late Decemeber trade with Toronto and immediately flipped the Knicks’ fortunes. Over 49 appearances in Manhattan (including 18 starts), Achiuwa averaged 7.6 points and 7.2 rebounds, playing well enough to earn another contract.

Achiuwa being day-to-day is perhaps the best news Knicks fans could’ve hoped for considering that things have stretched beyond the original two-to-four week diagnosis he received upon enduring the ankle ailment. With Achiuwa and Robinson sidelined, the Knicks’ interior defense has suffered, leading to a mediocre start that some view as highly disappointing.

Achiuwa knows exactly what the Knicks are looking for but can’t commit to anything until he’s fully healthy.

“It’s been a very long process,” Achiuwa told Bondy. “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.”

“I think one of my biggest gifts is defensive versatility, being able to guard multiple positions 1-through-5. 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.”

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