It’s best to say it out loud, because it’s impossible to escape the “what if” part of this terrifying development. There was a crystallizing moment in this basketball season that if you’re a Knicks fan, you’re given the greatest gift of all. belief. Actual, authentic, legitimate beliefs, not colored by rose-colored glasses or fanciful dreams.
You can also pinpoint the exact moment.
It happened on Jan. 27, when the Knicks led the Heat 115-98 with 4 minutes, 28 seconds remaining. Madison Square Garden had spent the previous two hours in a state of unfiltered confusion. The Knicks defeated the defending Eastern Conference champions just two days after defeating the defending champion Nuggets by 30 points.
The Knicks were hotter than they’ve been since the start of the new millennium, going 14-2 midway through the month and playing their best ball in decades.
A second later, Julius Randle drove to the basket. Foul taken by Jaime Jaquez. He fell hard on his right shoulder. The roar in the garden turned into a whisper.
It was as if all 19,812 people knew deep down that something had changed.
Maybe something is over.
The Knicks’ season didn’t end at 10:45 a.m. Thursday morning, when ESPN reported that Randle’s season was officially over, and after more than two months of rest and rehabilitation, he finally decided to undergo surgical repair of his shoulder. do not have.
Not technically, anyway.
The Knicks are still playing to stay out of the play-in game. And they have shown resilience throughout the season, often answering that they are strongest when the looming clouds look darkest. But without their second-best offensive player, it’s impossible to envision a scenario where the Knicks could make any significant playoff berth. They can play with the Cavaliers, Magic and Pacers with pure heart and grit. He’ll need more than that against the Celtics, Bucks, Heat and even Joel Embiid’s Sixers.
In other words, suddenly “what if” becomes “what happens now?”
In fact, the Knicks had already begun that transition. Publicly, no, they kept up the illusion, or delusion, of Randle’s return for as long as possible. Perhaps it was because Randall kept hoping against hope that he would one day wake up and feel ready to take on the challenge. basketball contacts. That’s Randall’s way. Say what you want about the flaws in his game, but he’s a lunch pail guy. He shows up for work. He cares deeply.
However, shoulders are difficult. And the way Randle has played, free of surgery, would have had everyone else holding their breath every time he got to the basket and worried about the Knicks.
So they waited until they couldn’t wait any longer, accepting the inevitable.
But the Knicks had already begun scattering breadcrumbs of hints about what was going on, at least in crypto. On Sunday, before the loss to the Thunder, Thibodeau cryptically said, “We’re just dealing with reality day by day.”
And then Josh Hart made it much less ambiguous. We have to realize every game and at the end of this season that they’re not coming back and they’re going to be a pleasant surprise. ”
From Randall’s point of view, there will be no surprises. So even if Knicks fans harbored dreams of facing off against the Celtics or Bucks — and they certainly seemed legitimate on the evening of Jan. 27 — they probably would have had surgery with Randle. It means that he will enter the room. .
Now they’re expecting OG Anunoby to surprise and hope he can come back from his tennis elbow attack and at least give the puncher a chance against other players. east.
Perhaps it was when Randle got the ball, four-and-a-half minutes left, the last second of what could have been his final night, that the Knicks saw themselves as the inevitable disruptor of Boston’s coronation. Maybe it wasn’t the time when I could have fantasized about them. east. Life is unfair sometimes. And sports, while definitely fair, are even less so.
