Knicks Get Positive Update on OG Anunoby, Julius Randle Uncertain
There might finally be some help on the way for the New York Knicks.
Despite falling to the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday night, head coach Tom Thibodeau offered an optimistic update on OG Anunoby, the team's star acquisition who has missed the past 18 games with an elbow injury.
"They can travel," Thibodeau said before Sunday's game, per video from SNY. "Hopefully OG gets cleared and should be able to play."
After a rematch with the 76ers on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG), the Knicks embark on a four-game road trip that will work through Portland, Sacramento, Golden State, and Denver. While there's optimism about Anunoby's return, prospects are a little more tepid when it comes to Julius Randle's resurgence, as he has likewise sat since Jan. 27, as he's dealing with a dislocated shoulder.
"Randle hasn't been cleared yet for contact,' a report from SNY's Ian Begley said. "There is some concern about why it is taking so long."
The Knicks (37-27) have struggled since Anunoby and Randle went down, dropping 10 of the 18 games since they went on the injured list. That followed a streak where they won 12 of 14 after Anunoby entered the rotation following a Dec. 30 trade with the Toronto Raptors.
Brotherly Dud: Knicks Fall to 76ers in Defensive Struggle
Getting Anunoby and/or Randle would certainly help the Knicks' budding playoff run: entering this week, New York holds fourth place in the Eastern Conference but is only a half-game ahead of fifth-place Orlando for fifth and two ahead of Miami for eighth.