While it wasn’t quite as shocking, there was a different energy as the Knicks prepared for their game against the Kings on Thursday night after hearing the news of teammate Julius Randle’s injury.
The All-Star forward will undergo season-ending surgery, the team announced before the game. He dislocated his right shoulder in a game against the Heat on January 27th. At the time, the Knicks were trailing at 12 wins and 2 losses.
Josh Hart, who was scheduled to play against the Kings after nursing a right wrist injury, said before Thursday’s game against Sacramento, “He just left us in the wind for two months, so I I just feel sorry for them,” he said jokingly.
“[He was] I tried very hard to get back, but unfortunately I couldn’t. It’s tough for us to be lower in the table but we have to keep focusing on what we have in the dressing room and he will be there to support us.
“As a competitor, as a hooper, you never want your season to end with an injury. That’s tough and frustrating for him.”
This was a similar sentiment from other teammates.
“It’s kind of sad from a personal standpoint. He was putting in a lot of effort to come back,” Isaiah Hartenstein said. “A lot of players in the league would probably give up right away and say, ‘I’m going to have surgery.’
The 29-year-old Randle was cleared to train in March and has begun waiting games with team doctors and trainers, hoping to be cleared for contact.
That answer wasn’t what the Knicks wanted to hear.
“There was nothing I really saw that pointed in that direction,” said Hart, who shared pregame shooting slots with Randle. “But it felt like he was doing everything he could and obviously wasn’t doing it.”
But that was the answer they had prepared.
“We went into every game feeling like they were on our team. If we can get someone back, that’s extra,” Hartenstein said. “So I think we’ve been through a lot this year, but we’re happy with where we are right now and we have to finish strong.”
“We’re not going to replace Julius individually. We’re doing it collectively,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “And that’s one thing this team has responded to very well.”
The Knicks beat Miami in the game in which Randle was injured, improving to 29 wins and 17 losses. Since then, they were 15-14 entering Thursday’s game.
Randle played through the playoffs last season with an ankle injury and underwent surgery in the summer.
He will miss all of this year as the Knicks struggle to stay out of the play-in spot after losing three straight games to the Kings and falling to fifth place in the East.
