[ad_1]
Julius Randle has a dislocated right shoulder, a league source confirmed. The Athletic. ESPN was the first to report the diagnosis.
The two-time All-Star suffered the injury late in the fourth quarter of a 125-109 victory over the Miami Heat. With the New York Knicks close to victory, Randle drove to the basket, where he was found by Miami rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. Jaquez attempted to take over. Randle tried to jump on him, causing the big striker to fall to the ground. He received the blocking foul but it landed on his right shoulder, which went out of place for him.
Randle quickly left for the locker room, did not shoot the free throws and did not return to the court.
When asked after the game if he was worried about the injury, Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau responded with one word: “A lot.” Randle is scheduled to undergo an MRI on Saturday night. The Knicks will play next Monday against the Charlotte Hornets. There is no word yet on Randle’s return timeline.
“He’s a guy who plays with things, and that’s what you love about him,” Thibodeau said. “He is a warrior. And so every time someone comes back, you know it’s something. “I don’t want to speculate until we have the information.”
The scene was jarring.
Randle is known for his availability above all else. He has played in all 46 of the Knicks’ games so far this season and played in the first 77 of 2022-23 before missing the last five with an ankle injury that ultimately led to offseason surgery. .
He is famous for playing with bumps and bruises.
“That’s the best part about him,” Thibodeau said. “He has a very high pain tolerance.”
But on Saturday, after falling to the ground, he got back up, with his shoulder out of place, and immediately headed to the locker room, something unusual. His teammate, Jalen Brunson, said seeing Randle fall and then limp toward the tunnel gave her “an ‘oh, s–‘ reaction.”
Until 4:27 left in Saturday’s game, when Randle suffered the injury, it seemed like nothing could go wrong for the Knicks.
They had just demolished the defending champion Denver Nuggets 122-84 on Thursday and continued the evisceration with a roaring fourth quarter to extend a three-point lead over the Heat to 17. After the win over Miami, the Knicks are now 12- 2 since switching to OG Anunoby.
The Knicks, who are 29-17 on the season, good for fourth place in the Eastern Conference, have been playing and Randle has been in the middle of it all.
GO DEEPER
Katz: The Knicks aren’t a perfect team, but they shouldn’t fix something that isn’t broken
He is a candidate, if not a favorite, to participate in his third All-Star Game in four years, averaging 24.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists. And he’s often done it thanks to plays like the one he was injured in, when he fights through the crowd on his way to the basket, he draws fouls and uses his strength to finish around the rim.
After the game, the Knicks made no accusations of wrongdoing at the Heat. In fact, New York called Jaquez’s attempted charge simply a basketball play.
“The thing is, both teams are playing hard,” Thibodeau said. “So there will be a lot of tough plays like that. You don’t want to see it. I don’t want to see anyone hurt on our team or your team. But that’s part of the game. The only way to guarantee that someone doesn’t get hurt is to never play.”
And now, the Knicks are waiting for more information on Randle’s future.
“You don’t want to see that from anyone, especially the way he’s been playing,” Brunson said. “He means a lot to us.”
Required reading
(Photo: Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)