Jericho Sims Forges a 'Winning' Role in Knicks' Rotation
This season, the New York Knicks have made the most out of an arrival from the Lone Star State: University of Texas at Austin alum Jericho Sims, of course.
Of course, the Knicks' rise up the Eastern Conference leaderboard has a lot to do with the efforts of former Dallas Maverick Jalen Brunson. But the Knicks (17-13) have enjoyed contributions throughout the latest nine-man rotation head coach Tom Thibodeau has formed, one that has built up a seven-game winning streak that stands as the longest-active tally in the NBA at the conclusion of Sunday action.
That group, for the time being, includes Sims a second-year man and part of the Knicks' holdover group from last season. He joined the team as the antepenultimate pick (58th of 60 overall) of the 2021 draft, partaking in 41 games during his rookie campaign.
Even though he earned a second New York contract and impressed in Las Vegas Summer League activities, it was hard to envision Sims operating at a full-time capacity in the Knicks' lineup: the team's offseason splurging beyond Brunson focused on interior renovation, getting Mitchell Robinson back on a four-year deal while luring Isaiah Hartenstein over from the west coast.
With a good amount invested in Robinson and Hartenstein, Sims bided his time at the end of the Knicks' bench in the early going, playing just over 10 minutes over the first nine games. He later capitalized on an opportunity that opened when Robinson suffered a knee injury in early November, even getting a few starting nods.
Sims went on to average 6.5 rebounds, 6.2 points, and 1.4 blocks in 10 Robinson-free games (2 starts). It was a strong follow-up to the hints of multi-faceted contributions Sims hinted upon when he earned increased opportunities toward the end of his freshman year.
"You've got to do more than one thing (and) his ability to blitz the pick-and-roll to get the ball out of their hands, get back to the basket," Thibodeau said of Sims to Marc Berman of the New York Post after the latter pulled Kevin Durant duty in a loss to Brooklyn last April. "Putting pressure on the rim is huge.’’
When Robinson healed, however, Thibodeau appeared to show little interest in operating with three men rotating in the interior. Sims later found himself back on the clean-up crew, his entries into blowout efforts interrupted by brief sojourns into the G League.
That appeared to be Sims' immediate destiny, but medical fate once again intervened: the introduction of Thibodeau's latest attempt at a nine-man set was interrupted by Obi Toppin's fibula injury that has sidelined him for all but the first win of the Knicks' active streak. Sims has been entrusted with those lost minutes in the post, giving the Knicks a larger lineup as Evan Fournier, Cam Reddish, and Derrick Rose continue to be stashed on the bench.
While Sims is still relatively deep on the Knicks' depth chart (averaging 9.9 minutes a night over the last, Toppin-less five), he's once again proving well-worthy of his inclusion amongst the fateful nine, regularly turning himself into a reliable target of lobs from the frontcourt. Such deliveries allowed him to put in four points in the Knicks' Sunday triumph, a narrow 109-106 decision over the Indiana Pacers.
Sims' ability to capitalize on the lobs is part of his improved footwork, a development that has not gone unnoticed by Thibodeau.
"We saw that last year: his feet. We can do more switching with him," Thibodeau said, per Steve Popper of Newsday. "That’s what gives us versatility, and he can guard fours on the perimeter, and Isaiah gives us the rim protection and then they’re inverted on offense. Isaiah can play away from the basket and Jericho can play around the basket."
Despite Thibodeau's lineups often ebbing and flowing with the antics of the frontcourt, he has often paired Sims with Hartenstein as part of second unit action. Sims has also continued to live up to his defensive reputation: the Knicks' have not allowed opponents to reach 100 in three of Sims' last six games.
Whether such a combination lingers upon Toppin's undated return remains to be seen, but Thibodeau sounds more than willing to keep it up if the scoreboard continues to yield results in the Knicks' favor.
“The most important thing is the winning," Thibodeau declared. "The big lineup has really helped us in terms of rebounding and we’ve actually scored very well with that group.”
Sims and the Knicks return to action on Tuesday night against the Golden State Warriors (7:30 p.m. ET, TNT).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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