The New York Knicks enter the second half of the season with high hopes, something that isn’t normal for this franchise throughout the past decade. It’s been a long time coming, but the Knicks are finally a team that has a chance to make noise in the playoffs. Unfortunately, Julius Randle, OG Anunoby, and others have dealt with injuries. However, the latest update on Randle was positive and should have Knicks fans excited about the future of this team.
Randle dislocated his shoulder in an ugly injury on January 27. He’s been sidelined ever since and there was concern that it could keep him out for most of the regular season when it happened. Fred Katz of The Athletic reported the latest on Randle, hinting at a possible return in the regular season.
“Doctors have to clear Randle to play before he can compete in a practice, let alone a game. There is growing optimism inside the Knicks that a Randle return will come with time remaining in the regular season. The team’s starting power forward notoriously insists on playing through pain. But now, with the New York Knicks hoping for a playoff run, the job of the training staff and team doctors is to save Randle from himself.”
Head coach Tom Thibodeau is notorious for playing his players big minutes, which he can’t do when Randle does eventually return. The Knicks need to allow Randle as much time as possible to return from this injury.
They Can Learn From Last Year
When the New York Knicks were eliminated from the playoffs last season, it was clear that Randle wasn’t healthy. His play was inexcusable and at times, they were better off without him on the court. He averaged 16.6 points and shot just 37.4% from the field. That was way down from his 25.1 points per game and 45.9% field goal percentage in the regular season.
Randle was dealing with an ankle injury last season and if they learned anything, it’s that they need him to be healthy if they want to win. Katz added that last season can be a learning moment for this franchise.
“He may want to play through the injury. But the Knicks also don’t need a repeat of last spring, when he was coming off an All-NBA season and limped through a bum ankle, which needed eventual surgery, during the postseason. The player who took the court for the Knicks during their playoff run looked like Randle and acted like Randle. His family recognized him as the same person, but he was not the same player. His defense cratered. He stopped moving in transition and couldn’t attack the basket the same way. He stopped making shots.”
The Knicks Need to Get Healthy
As the New York Knicks season progresses, their biggest concern should be getting healthy. Securing a top-four seed should be a priority for them as that would give them a home playoff game. They’re a half-a-game ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers for the No. 4 seed.
Playoff seeding is important, but health is wealth. As we saw last year from the Milwaukee Bucks injury to Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Boston Celtics injury to Jayson Tatum, and others, teams had significant advantages because they were healthy, not because of home court advantage.
Thibodeau will need to be smarter than in years past and make the right moves.
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