The New York Knicks are going to be without All-Star forward Julius Randle through at least the end of the regular season.
In the midst of a brilliant stretch that included a 57-point outing, Randle sustained an ankle injury in the second quarter of New York’s win over the Miami Heat Wednesday evening. The injury came after he rolled his left ankle while landing on Bam Adebayo’s foot. Randle was seen in obvious pain before exiting the court.
We now have more information on the injury. It’s not great. The Knicks announced that Julius Randle will be re-evaluated in two weeks after suffering a sprained left ankle.
The timing is just terrible for Randle and his Knicks. Their regular season is slated to come to an end April 9 against the Indiana Pacers. Based on the Knicks’ own timeline, Randle will miss the final five regular-season games. He’s also likely going to be out for the start of the playoffs. That depends on what grade the sprain is.
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Impact of Julius Randle injury on the New York Knicks
Since starting the season with an average 18-18 record, the Knicks have won 26 of their past 41 games. Their win over Miami on Wednesday was huge in that it created a four-game separation between earning a playoff spot or having to partake in the Play-In Tournament.
With that said, it’s going to be all about that first-round matchup. As of right now, New York would take on a talented Cleveland Cavaliers team in the initial round. If Randle is sidelined or nowhere near 100%, it will have a major impact. As noted above, he’s been playing at a high level recently.
- Julius Randle stats (20 games): 27.6 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 3.9 APG, 46% shooting, 36% 3-point
Given that fellow star Jalen Brunson has been banged up himself, this can’t be seen as good news for a surprising Knicks team.