Jericho Sims is either a diamond in the dirt or an expendable young center. Due to unfortunate circumstances, Sims will likely play a career-high in minutes due to Mitchell Robinson's December or January return to the lineup. A recent video revealed the young center working on his post-game, as he'll need to find a way to keep power forward Julius Randle from siphoning his precious minutes.
Sims played 138 games in three seasons, averaging 14 minutes per game during the allotted time. What must the 25-year-old center do to stand out on a Knicks roster starved of talented centers? For one, stay healthy. Aside from the aforementioned Randle, Precious Achuiwa is the other option, and he stands at an undersized 6-8.
Regarding height, Sims is a reasonable option for the Knicks. However, despite standing at 6-10, he's only 245 pounds. As a center, Sims must work on his game to compensate for his lack of muscle and weight.
According to the New York Post's Stefan Bondy, Sims understands this, so he spent the summer training with Knicks assistant Mark Bryant, a recent veteran addition to the staff who specializes in developing frontcourt talent.
Unless the Knicks trade for a veteran center like Clint Capela, internal growth will bode well for their future assets and cap space.
The Knicks plan to maintain the two-seed or possibly dethrone the Boston Celtics in the standings, and as Leon Rose's moves suggested this summer, he'll do what it takes to get the job done.
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If Sims can make the most of his minutes in the first two or three months of the season, it will pay dividends when Robinson returns.