Knicks 'Collectively' Ready For Life Without Julius Randle

The New York Knicks have sustained a grueling blow with the loss of Julius Randle and are now left to pick up the pieces.

Leave it to the new century's New York Knicks to sustain a massive blow on a day off, the day after a potentially season-defining victory, no less. 

Wednesday's 101-92 triumph over the Miami Heat, one that all but sealed the Knicks' inclusion among the six automatic Eastern Conference playoff teams, comes with the burden of a poorly-timed Julius Randle injury. Randle left Wednesday's game after landing awkwardly on the foot of Bam Adebayo when going for a rebound. He did not return after taking refuge in the Knicks' locker room for the remainder of the game. 

While there's never a good time to lose an All-Star for at least two weeks, a re-evaluation of a Randle ankle injury will come at the last possible moment before the NBA Playoffs tip off on April 15. 

Julius Randle needed to be helped to the locker room after suffering an apparent ankle injury 🤕🙏pic.twitter.com/qemVgTlxPf

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 30, 2023

But this season's success has been built upon facing and accepting challenges ... what's one more? 

Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau hinted that Josh Hart, Obi Toppin, and Jericho Sims could physically step in to replace Randle ... but it's far more complex than just a single substitution. 

"Injuries, they happen, and the thing that we have to understand is when you have a guy who’s averaging 25 points and 10 rebounds and five assists and doing the things that he’s doing, you’re not replacing him with an individual player,” Thibodeau said in the aftermath of the Miami win, per Peter Botte of the New York Post. “But what we can do is we can play great defense. We can rebound the ball great. We can take care of the ball. We know if we do those three things great, we can be in position to win."

The Knicks (44-33) did just that on Wednesday, earning a win that put them four games ahead of the seventh-place Heat, the current top seed in the purgatorial Play-In Tournament. Reserves rose to the occasion, particularly in a final frame that saw three bench men (Hart, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Immanuel Quickley) lead the way en route to a 25-16 advantage.

But, to Thibodeau's point, no one man can replace Randle, and that's just based on his literal prescience alone: entering Thursday night, Randle ranked second in the NBA in total minutes this season (2,737) and is one of only two Knicks (along with Hartenstein) to appear in all 77 games this season.  

Adding to the injury's poor timing is the recent recovery of Randle's fellow franchise face Jalen Brunson. The primary point guard returned after a two-game absence created by a hand injury on Wednesday but was relatively stifled despite 30 minutes of action. Brunson did not play in the final quarter, as starters RJ Barrett and Quentin Grimes joined the reserves to finish things out. 

Unaware of Randle's precise absence after the game, Brunson perhaps indirectly declared to get back into a form that would be enough to help somewhat carry the team as they move toward a postseason future.

“I know Julius is a fighter,” Brunson said, per The Post. “He’s a competitor. He’s going to do everything he can to make sure he’s ready to go. But I’m not that concerned.”

The Knicks seem to know that they'll be fine without Randle considering he won't be truly gone: though Randle's physical prescience will be missing from the hardwood, players like Hartenstein have credited him for building a permanent place in their minds. 

Without Randle's efforts, Hartenstein declared, all sides would not be where they are now on both a personal and team-wide level.

"I think it was after one game I played bad; I think I got a text from Julius, just saying to keep going,” Hartenstein said in video from SNY. “(It's things like) just him being a teammate like that. I think helped give me more confidence." 

Hartenstein did not specify which game he was referring to, but one could perhaps deduce the timeframe of Randle's encouraging words with one look at his box scores: since Jan. 31, Hartenstein has been one of the major contributors off the Knicks' bench, averaging 7.7 rebounds a game. New York is 17-9 in that span.

"I think of the whole season," Hartenstein declared. "He’s been really good at making sure that everyone feels comfortable.”

The first game in the post-Randle era lands on Friday night when the Knicks battle the Cleveland Cavaliers on the road (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG). 

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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