The New York Knicks need to address the Randle problem.
New York’s newest addition to an ongoing six-game winning run was bittersweet: as the Knicks wrapped off a 125-109 victory against the Miami Heat at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, two-time All-Star Julius Randle landed awkwardly at the conclusion of a drive on Jaime Jaquez Jr. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Randle suffered a dislocated shoulder and underwent an MRI on Saturday night.
Randle, who is well-known for disregarding the idea of load management, immediately set a course for the Knicks locker room, casting a cloud over what could have been another historic triumph.
“You knew he’d go to the locker room because he’s a guy who plays through things, which is what you admire about him.” “He’s a warrior,” head coach Tom Thibodeau remarked in the aftermath, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. “Any time someone walks back, you know it’s something.”
“It was a ‘oh s-t’ reaction,” said point guard Jalen Brunson, according to Peter Sblendorio of the New York Daily News. “You don’t want to see that from anyone, especially given how he’s been playing. He means a lot to us, so going back there is clearly not ideal. We’ll proceed after we’ve determined what’s wrong.”
With Saturday’s victory, New York (29-17) defeated the club that eliminated them in last spring’s Easter Conference quarterfinals, putting them 12 games ahead of.500 for the season. Now, they’re forced to hold their breath during one of the most productive sequences of play in recent memory until a fresh diagnosis is revealed.
While Randle has garnered a polarizing reputation as the Knicks’ headliner, there’s no denying his impact. A slow start to open the 2023-24 season, his fifth as a Knick, lies mostly forgotten as his return to All-Star form was one of the many reasons why New York has posted the NBA’s best record in the new calendar year (12-2 after Saturday).
Even if the Knicks avoided a major medical catastrophe (Wojnarowski reported that initial x-rays “didn’t show much damage”), the idea of Randle being sidelined in any form is a dangerous prospect with Obi Toppin no longer in play. Toppin, who serviceably subbed for Randle while he worked off a late ankle injury, was traded to the Indiana Pacers over the summer and the Knicks didn’t do too much to shore up power forward depth.
If Randle is forced to miss time, that could put Josh Hart back in the starting five while Precious Achiuwa could emerge as another depth star. The latter has hauled in 40 rebounds over the past four games while spelling Isaiah Hartenstein, who returned to action on Saturday after a two-game departure for his own ankle injury.
