MIAMI — It was Julius Randle’s joke last February that he was aiming for an April 1 return.
April Fool.
What made people laugh more than two months ago is no longer humorous, especially for Knicks fans. April Fools’ Day came and went on Monday, with just another update that Randle will miss the next game against the Heat. The timeline would be much easier to digest if it came with an explanation. But the Knicks, through their only public spokesman Tom Thibodeau, provide medical updates like the Jets offense with Zach Wilson under center.
Launch it.
Launch it.
Launch it.
The only official announcement regarding Randle, for example, was that he suffered a dislocated shoulder and would be re-evaluated in two to three weeks. It was February 1st. Technically, he’s been on a daily basis ever since. One explanation I’ve heard – which seems entirely reasonable – is that the high risk of re-injury with dislocated shoulders caused the Knicks to prioritize strengthening the zone before the playoffs and believe that fewer matches are better. In other words, there is less risk of shoulder injury. If that’s true, Thibodeau didn’t confirm when I asked a while ago.
He spoke about the response.
So we’ve been stuck on the same Randle update for a month – “light pad contact” – with no explanation why it’s moving like the Cross Bronx Expressway at 5 p.m. The best reasons to believe Randle will return are his high-intensity solo workouts before games. He’s sweating for something. We know he wants to play. Few in the NBA are more irritated by DNPs than Randle. Otherwise, surgery would have made sense some time ago.
OG Anunoby’s status is similarly vague, although reports indicate he’s closer to a return than Randle. Anunoby’s surgically repaired elbow setback was initially downplayed by player and coach. He was called “day to day” on March 18, and now he’s missed seven straight games and counting. His elbow, meanwhile, is visibly swollen when spotted with a short-sleeved shirt. The Knicks finally gave it a name: elbow tendinopathy.
Less than a month ago, Josh Hart said he was “excited to get these guys back.”
At Easter he said this:
“I look at it like this is the team we’re going to have. I think that’s the way we have to approach it, that these guys don’t come back and obviously we’ll be pleasantly surprised if they come back.
Make no mistake: there is a lot at stake with these recoveries. Unlike previous seasons for this franchise, it would look like a painful mess if two of the team’s three best players were either inactive or ineffective when the playoffs roll around.
For what? Jalen Friggin Brunson.
The point guard is having the best season in a Knicks uniform since at least Carmelo Anthony in 2012-13, probably longer.
Much longer.
Over his last nine games, he leads the NBA with an average of 34.3 points, all without the help of a teammate who has always been considered an All-Star candidate.
The opposing teams storm Brunson, bombard him, and they still can’t stop him. This has been an incredible watch. The unfortunate pattern during this stretch – which now includes back-to-back losses – is that the Knicks lose all their vigor when Brunson leaves the court.
He needs help, and Leon Rose’s acquisitions of Alec Burks and Bojan Bogdanovic provided no answers, only more frustration with the second unit.
That’s why Randle and Anunoby’s recoveries carry so much weight. And why non-updates are so frustrating. As Carmelo’s decline after 2013 demonstrated, repeat brilliance is not guaranteed.
It would be a shame to spoil Brunson’s.
New York Post
