Knicks Injuries: Will Julius Randle Be Back In Time For Playoffs?
The New York Knicks announced on Thursday that forward Julius Randle will miss at least the next two weeks of action after spraining his left ankle in Wednesday's win over the Miami Heat.
Randle, in the midst of a resurgent campaign with the Knicks, was forced to leave in the latter stages of the second quarter when he was trying to rebound an Immanuel Quickley misfire. The ankle in question rolled when he landed on the sneaker of Bam Adebayo and he was in considerable pain as he tried to walk the ailment off, at first needing assistance to merely stand.
The two-time All-Star briefly stayed in the game to shoot free throws stemming from a foul charged to Adebayo. He sunk one of the two before the Knicks intentionally fouled to stop the game, at which point Randle immediately limped to the New York locker room at Madison Square Garden.
New York quickly declared that Randle would miss the remainder of the game as Obi Toppin took his spot in the opening five when second half action tipped off. Without Randle, the Knicks (44-33) nonetheless mustered a crucial 101-92 victory over the Heat, one that more or less locked them into one of the six automatic Eastern Conference playoff spots.
Even with the good news, Randle and the 25.1 points and 10 rebounds that he averages will undoubtedly be missed as the Knicks gear up for a potential playoff run. With a re-evaluation planned in two weeks, Randle will more than likely miss the Knicks' final five regular season games, which begin on Friday against potential first-round foe Cleveland (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG). To call Randle a workhorse would be the understatement of the year: the veteran is one of two Knicks (along with Isaiah Hartenstein) to appear in all 77 games this season and he's second in the Association in minutes behind Mikal Bridges of Brooklyn.
The first round of the NBA Playoffs is scheduled to open on April 15, two days after Randle's supposed re-evaluation. Despite inching closer to the playoffs, the Knicks have been dealt some brutal medical blows over the past month: primary point guard Jalen Brunson returned to action on Wednesday night after missing the prior two games with a sprained hand injury. Brunson played 30 minutes against Miami but sat out the entire fourth quarter as the Knicks pulled away.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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