Josh Hart: Why Knicks Miss Julius Randle
Going into one of the biggest games of this new era, the New York Knicks are doing what they can to Randle their emotions.
New York has turned the past few months of basketball into one of its most lucrative stretches of hardwood prosperity in recent memory, but they're pulling off this caper with one of their regulars sidelined. The Knicks earned a 50-win season and the second seed on the Eastern Conference playoff bracket with Julius Randle sidelined with a shoulder ailment that has cost him the past three months.
Though the Knicks have made the best of the situation, Josh Hart put a spotlight on the void as the team made its final preparations for Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Philadelphia 76ers (9 p.m. ET, MSG/TNT).
"He was an All-Star. He (had) 24 (points), nine (rebounds), and five (assists) or whatever it is, so that playmaking, that shotmaking, is something that we're missing," Hart, who took over Randle's spot in the starting five, said in video from SNY. "It's funny, when people talk about us, they somehow forget the big void that we have of 24 and nine gone, it's not like he's out there with us, 70 percent, 80 percent, he's not out there."
"We knew it was going to be hard to fill, but his playmaking, his shotmaking, his energy is something that we definitely miss."
This is the second consecutive postseason where the cloud of a Randle injury has hovered over the Knicks' title trek: the three-time All-Star was able to partake in last year's run after enduring an ankle injury late in the regular season but he was clearly not at 100 percent. This time around, Randle overcame a slow start to post his usual numbers and earn a third exhibition invite but he has not played since a Jan. 27 win over Miami.
Hart said that Randle has remained in contact with the team, which could probably benefit from his expertise as they seek to silence the Sixers: in 24 career appearances against Philadelphia, Randle has averaged 20.4 points and 9.5 rebounds.
GEOFF MAGLIOCCHETTI
Editor-In-Chief at All Knicks