Orlando, Fla. — Jericho Sims will have a chance to become the second Knick in a row to win the NBA Slam Dunk Contest.
According to The Athletic, Sims has committed to attend the event later this month, one year after Obie Toppin took home the title at the 2022 All-Star Weekend.
The second-year big man expressed interest in joining the field last month on Feb. 18 in Salt Lake City. He replaces Portland’s Shayden Sharp, who resigned earlier Tuesday.
Toppin’s win a year ago – in his second attempt at the NBA’s most seasons – marked the fifth time a Knicks player has won the Slam Dunk title, joining Kenny Walker in 1989 and Nate Robinson, who won three times in 2006, 2009 and 2010. happened
RJ Barrett was not at full strength in his return to the Knicks lineup after missing one game with a non-COVID illness.
But after a slow start in which he missed his first four shots and had just two points in the first half, Barrett scored 13 after halftime — including two key 3-pointers — to lead the Knicks to the Magic. Assisted in a 102-98 win.
“I was still a little bit nervous in the first half, but I worked my way through it and I was able to find it in the second half,” said Barrett, who was a late scratch against the 76ers on Sunday. . “Definitely, it’s not the easiest to play when you’re not feeling your best.
“But I tried to do whatever I could and I was able to find the energy in the second half.”
Derrick Rose hasn’t played in a game for the Knicks since the calendar flipped to 2023, his last appearance coming on New Year’s Eve in Houston.
With the trade deadline looming Thursday, coach Tom Thibodeau was asked if he wanted the 34-year-old former league MVP to remain in a mentoring role for the team’s younger players or be given a chance to play elsewhere.
“He’s been great. Any role you ask Derrick to play, he embraces it. He’s always been a team-first guy. So I know he’s always ready,” Thibodeau said. . “He contributes to our club in so many different ways.
“As far as the trade stuff, there’s a million trades that are talked about and very few that happen. So I want him to always be around.
Paolo Banchero of Barrett on the Magic, a fellow Duke product: “I was able to go to a game when [Duke] Played at the Garden last year and I got to meet him. … It’s nice to see how he’s progressing and just the amazing year he’s having. He is very talented. It has helped them a lot. They’ve gotten a lot better this year, so they got a good one.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 draft, Banchero is averaging 20.2 points as a rookie in 48 games, including 16 Tuesday night.
With the three-week mark since Mitchell Robinson’s thumb surgery (Jan. 19) approaching this week, Thibodeau said the center “will go in for a checkup soon and once we get that update Will give it to you guys.”
Read full article here