Heading into this season, the most glaring hole in the Knicks’ roster was the backup center, with only Jericho Sims available to spell Karl-Anthony Towns. The reinforcements started to appear a month ago when Precious Achiuwa returned from a 21-game absence.

Achiuwa has provided a spark the bench desperately needed as a versatile big man who can give KAT time to rest and offer more offensively than Sims or rookie Ariel Hukporti.

As my colleague Jalen Martin said shortly after Achiuwa’s return to action, he is a hybrid player, and his skillset can help unlock a variety of elements for the Knicks on both ends of the floor. For a team based on positional versatility up and down the roster, Achiuwa is a good solve for the backup big man problem, something that he continues to show as the season progresses.

Whenever Tom Thibodeau is asked about Jericho Sims, he usually talks in abstracts. “We liked the minutes we got from Jericho” is typically uttered. In reality, Jericho Sims is an offensively limited player in the NBA. We see it when he catches the ball in the post and often does not know what to do with it, as Clyde Frazier has pointed out countless times on MSG broadcasts).

This is where Achiuwa provides an upgrade at the backup five position. In the minutes he has played this year, we have seen him make shots in the midrange, at the rim in traffic, and has even shown flashes as a corner-three threat. Defenses must be aware of his ability to make these shots, which draws a bit of gravity away from the rim, opening driving lanes for his teammates.

Achiuwa has also proven to be an excellent cutter this season. Aggressive cutting has been a focus of the Knicks’ offense this year, particularly as KAT has displayed an adept touch with finding open teammates cutting for easy buckets. The Knicks rank ninth in the NBA this year in cuts per game at 8.2, which makes this skill of Achiuwa’s that much more valuable.

The Knicks have also been pushing the pace a bit more than in previous years in the Thibodeau era, averaging 16.1 fast break points per game, which ranks 12^th in the league. Precious has been a big part of this since his return, running the floor smartly and has been the deliverer of multiple fast break dunks as a result.

All of this is an improvement over what the Knicks were getting from Sims offensively, and it has allowed Thibodeau to play Achiuwa with KAT more frequently. In the 229 possessions that have featured both players, the Knicks are in the 95^th percentile or higher in point differential, points per possession, effective field goal percentage, free throw rate, and offensive rebound rate (per Cleaning The Glass). In short, the combination has helped the Knicks unlock another layer of their offensive potential.

If there is one attribute Thibodeau values above all else in a big man, it is rim protection. An added wrinkle to that desired attribute is switchability on the perimeter. It is something that we have seen Thibodeau ask of bigs in the past, specifically Isaiah Hartenstein and Mitchell Robinson. They have to be able to exert some pressure on shooters on the outside while also use their lateral quickness to contest rim attempts.

Since his return, Achiuwa has been able to do both things. He is in the 60^th percentile of the league in both steal and block percent, causing turnovers on the perimeter while also contesting shots at the rim. In short, he is doing exactly what a Tom Thibodeau big man is supposed to do.

Achiuwa has also proven to be an adept rebounder once again this year. With a 22.3% defensive rebounding rate, Achuiwa is in the 76^th percentile of all players in the NBA. On the offensive glass, his rebounding rate is 9.7%, which is in the 67^th percentile of all players. This, in combination with the stellar rebounding from Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns, means more opportunities for the Knicks to score.

Precious Achuiwa is far from a perfect player — there is a reason that he is coming off the bench as opposed to being an entrenched starter, after all. But for this Knicks team that has its fair share of star power, he is an essential cog in the machine.

All season, the bench has been an issue. It is something that has reared its head again as Deuce McBride has missed a few games. But the attributes that Precious brings to the table are part of the solution to the Knicks bench woes, not the problem. And pending health, he presents the tools to be an integral part to this team in the playoffs.