Knicks need Julius Randle at his best for playoff push
Knicks forward Julius Randle runs up the court after making a three-point basket against the = Wizards during the second half of an NBA game on March 23. Credit: AP/Vincent Carchietta
The Knicks headed off to Minnesota Tuesday afternoon, still without any additional help as team president Leon Rose and his front office staff searched for assistance to fill the hole left by Mitchell Robinson’s second surgery in a six-week stretch.
But the season doesn’t wait for the search to conclude as the Knicks lost to the Miami Heat at Madison Square Garden Monday and there is no break for the Knicks who have three more games in the next four days. So they must make do with what they have and while that means having Nerlens Noel and Taj Gibson at center, the Knicks' bigger need is for the pieces they have to perform at an optimal level.
And no one is more important to that than the player who has carried them through much of this season — Julius Randle.
While the Knicks have shown that they can survive without Robinson, managing a 9-6 record when he was sidelined with a fractured right hand. But now they are without him likely for the remainder of the regular season at best and to continue their playoff push need Randle to be at his best. But Randle wasn’t Monday, limited as he returned to action after sitting out the previous game with a right thigh contusion.
He wasn’t confirmed to even be available until shortly before game time. Through the first three quarters he was 5-for-14 shooting, including just 1 of 6 from beyond the arc, and was a -21 in his 28 minutes of action.
"He’s a tough guy," Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. "Him and Reggie [Bullock] came back. When you miss a game like that, you don’t have your normal rhythm. There wasn’t a lot of rhythm to the game. It was fight, scratch, claw every inch of the court. It’s not easy to get a rhythm in that type of game. Both gave us what they had and we certainly appreciate that. And we were disappointed we didn’t get the win."
The Knicks might need even more than usual from Randle because Derrick Rose, who contributed 13 points and 16 points in his two games since returning from the NBA’s Health and Safety Protocols, was listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game with a sore left ankle.
"He's incredible," Randle said of Rose. "He makes the game easier. Specifically for me, but he makes the game easier for everybody. It's always great to have him back. Obviously, we're down Mitch but getting our team back full strength is very important and critical down the stretch. Derrick is Derrick. It's amazing he does what he does. He scores the ball, pushes the pace, makes the game easier, makes the right plays. I love going out there and competing with him."
And as far as his own game, Randle is confident that will come back, too.
"For me, it's not about my rhythm or whatever it is," he said. "I just try to make the right plays. It's not about my rhythm. We went into the half with a seven-point lead and we were making the right plays. Getting stops. We missed a lot of shots in the first [half] that we like. It could've been a lot larger of a lead. But it is what it is. It's a make or miss league, we've got to come back better."
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
