That the New York Knicks are 43-28, fourth in the East, is nothing less than a byproduct of their strength of character.
Met by substantial misfortune, the Knicks have taken the court without multiple key players for half of the season. To that point, consider that All-Star forward Julius Randle has only played 46 games this season. 25-year-old rim-protector Mitchell Robinson has missed 50 straight games after completing surgery to repair a stress fracture in his ankle. Robinson is second in Knicks history in career blocks (594).
The Knicks provided several injury updates on Monday, with the most notable news being Robinson‘s anticipated return.
Knicks Trio Receive Major Injury Updates Ahead of Playoffs
“Of the three big injured players for the Knicks, [Robinson], as expected, is the closest to a return,” per the New York Post’s Stefan Bondy.
Bondy adds that Robinson was “a full participant in a practice last week,” “is moving quite well,” and “just needs a little bit more time.”
Randle, who has been out since late January with a dislocated shoulder, “is feeling good but hasn’t been cleared yet for full contact,” per SportsNet New York‘s Ian Begley.
Julius Randle is feeling good but hasn’t been cleared yet for full contact, Tom Thibodeau says. Randle’s been doing controlled contact but hasn’t been taking live contact. Randle has been in this stage of rehab for a few weeks. Thibodeau says Randle hasn’t had setback.
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) March 25, 2024
“Randle’s been doing controlled contact but hasn’t been taking live contact,” Begley adds. However, although the 29-year-old has “been in this stage of rehab for a few weeks,” he “hasn’t had setback.”
On Mar. 12, 3-and-D wing OG Anunoby returned to the lineup after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on Feb. 8. to remove a loose bone fragment from his elbow. After three games, Anunoby suffered a setback as elbow pain flared up. Notably, despite having just come back from injury, he averaged 32.5 minutes and 10.0 field goal attempts per game in those three contests.
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau says, “he’s doing a little bit more (on-court work)… he’s basically got to let [the elbow irritation] calm down.”
Tom Thibodeau says OG Anunoby is “doing a little bit more” and went through some portions of shootaround today pic.twitter.com/vLxQSkEwwY
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) March 25, 2024
“But he went through some stuff [at Monday morning’s shootaround],” Thibodeau confirms.
Timing and Priorities
Without Robinson, Randle, or Anunoby, the Knicks are 11-11 on the season.
While they’ve had exhilarating performances in that time, they’re a middling team without the trio. With that said, it’s imperative that they return sooner rather than later. Nonetheless, having them healthy for the postseason is more important than having them for the final 11 regular season games.
