PHOENIX — Wednesday brought some cautiously optimistic updates for the Knicks frontcourt.
Precious Achiuwa, who hasn’t played since sustaining a strained hamstring in the preseason finale, is expected to be cleared for practice during the Knicks’ five-game road trip, Tom Thibodeau revealed before the 138-122 victory over the Suns.
Mitchell Robinson, who also accompanied the Knicks on the road trip, started shooting on his surgically repaired ankle but hasn’t been cleared to practice or run yet, the coach said.
“It’s going to be a long progression,” Thibodeau said. “So obviously he started but he has to be patient, go step-by-step. He hasn’t been cleared for practice but he’s done some shooting and that sort of thing. Can do conditioning in the weight room. So he’s making good progress. Just have to be patient.”
Robinson, who underwent a second surgery on his left ankle in May, isn’t expected to return until December, at the very earliest, though more likely after the New Year.
Achiuwa is much closer to playing again. Thibodeau said it’s a matter of how he feels after a contact practice.
“He’s moving pretty good right now,” Thibodeau said.
Without Achiuwa and Robinson, the Knicks have been rolling with a center rotation of Karl-Anthony Towns, Jericho Sims and Ariel Hukporti.
Miles McBride, who missed his fourth straight game because of knee inflammation Wednesday, is considered a true day-to-day, meaning he could play as early as Saturday in Utah.
Cam Payne, who scored 12 points in the Knicks’ win Wednesday, returned to the place of his NBA breakout and also an arrest this summer he declared was a one-time mishap.
“It was just a little mistake I had,” Payne said. “Wish it never would have happened. Won’t ever happen again.”
According to reports, Payne called police to his Scottsdale, Ariz., home on June 14 following a fight with his girlfriend. When police arrived, Payne refused to provide his name — instead calling himself, “Terry Johnson” — and was cuffed for providing a false name and making a false report.
The incident, which occurred less than a month before Payne signed with the Knicks, couldn’t be forgotten without Josh Hart chiming in.
Soon after Payne inked his one-year, $3.1 million deal, Hart wrote on X, “Shoutout Terry.”
Apparently the joke wasn’t cleared by Payne.
“When he made that tweet, I hadn’t even talked to him yet,” the guard said before adding, “It’s all good.”
Payne, 30, spent four seasons with the Suns, where he earned a regular rotation spot and solidified a role in the NBA after a bumpy start as the 15th-overall pick in 2015.
Payne, the first guard off the bench with McBride out, scored 12 points on 4-for-9 shooting in Wednesday’s win.
“They make it comfortable to be here,” Payne said Wednesday. “J-Hart, he’s funny, he loves playing, but at the end of the day, I think this team has great chemistry. I feel like we all like to be around each other, and that’s good. Kind of like when we were in Phoenix a few years ago. I feel that same kind of vibe here.
“Everybody wants to win, so it’s cool to be around. And when you joke, you know it’s from the heart because when we get on the court we hold everybody accountable. We’re allowed to talk to each other any kind of way. And that’s how it goes. You play around on Twitter, play around in person, but when we’re on the court it’s all seriousness, all about winning.”
