Precious Achiuwa to Miss Time With Hamstring Injury
The New York Knickerbockers are two days out from opening night of their 2024-2025 campaign, as anticipation is bubbling throughout the city as the orange and blue are set to begin a year in which their chances at an NBA title are the highest they have been in decades.
The players who take the court for New York will look very different than those who did last year, as the offseason was eventful and full of major changes.
Most notably, the Knicks dealt for star wing Mikal Bridges, lost fan-favorite center Isaiah Hartenstein, and just a few weeks ago completed a shocking blockbuster deal for Karl Anthony-Towns in exchange for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo.
The departure of Isaiah Hartenstein, followed by continuous negative injury news on Mitchell Robinson, left the Knicks in a precarious spot around the center position. This issue culminated in the trade for KAT, who had the most made three-pointers by a center in the NBA’s history (975).
Now that the season opener is just around the corner, the Knicks have been dealt some tough injury news on one of their big men, Precious Achiuwa. The 6’8 forward sustained the injury, a strained left hamstring, in Friday night’s preseason finale against the Washington Wizards.
He will miss at least 2-4 weeks and then be re-evaluated. This is an unfortunate blow to the Knick’s depth as they begin the season.
PHOTO: Vincent Carchietta/Imagn Images
Achiuwa came to New York from Toronto as part of the OG Anunoby deal last December, and to the surprise of many, became a key factor in the Knick’s playoff run as he had to step up when many players went down with injuries as the season went on. He grew up in New York after moving here from Nigeria, where he was born. In 49 regular season games played for the Knicks last year, he finished averaging 7.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game. In the playoffs, where the team reached the second round before falling to the Indiana Pacers in game 7, Achiuwa averaged 5.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 0.6 assists in 9 games played. He started 18 times in the regular season and twice in the postseason.
It wasn’t guaranteed he would return to the orange and blue as he was a free agent entering the offseason. However, on July 30th, the Knicks resigned him to a one-year, $6 million deal. With Hartenstein’s departure and Mitchell Robinson’s extended absence, Precious Achiuwa is important heading into this year, providing them depth. They will need a big man presence on the court when the 7-foot Karl Anthony-Towns is on the bench.
The Knicks’ depth has suffered this offseason, with Bojan Bogdanović being lost in the Mikal Bridges deal and Donte DiVincenzo being lost in the shocking trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Now, their already thinning bench has suffered another blow with Precious Achiuwa’s injury. Another possible reinforcement, Landry Shamet, went down with a dislocated shoulder and was waived from the team on Saturday.
New York’s bench will be relatively small for the start of the season, and it will especially be lacking up front. Deuce McBride will headline the reinforcements, along with newly signed Cam Payne and likely either Jericho Sims or Ariel Hukporti. Rookie Tyler Kolek could also earn himself some minutes after a strong preseason.
Excitement is buzzing and percolating across New York as October goes on; the Yankees have made the World Series for the first time in 15 years, and the Mets are two wins away from making it back there.
The Rangers and Islanders have started their seasons, and the anticipation for the New York Knickerbockers season opener is increasing as the day approaches.
It will be a tough test for the Orange and Blue to open the year, as eight of their first ten opponents will be teams that made the postseason last year.
New York will now have to navigate this without one of their key role players, Precious Achiuwa, as he recovers from an injury.
It all begins Tuesday night in Boston, as the Knicks visit the defending champions, the Celtics, for the first step in the quest to bring an NBA title to New York for the first time in 52 years.
PHOTO: Vincent Carchietta/Imagn Images
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