Despite being summoned as an All-Star for a third time in his career, Julius Randle will miss this year’s celebrations in Indianapolis. This Thursday the Knicks announced that their forward would be reevaluated in two to three weeks for the dislocated shoulder he’s endured since Saturday night’s win over the Heat.
Before last night’s clash against the Pacers at the Madison Square Garden, his coach Tom Thibodeau delivered the news. “He’s already begun the rehab,” he told the press. “So just let him work his way through it. Encouraged, upbeat, [we’ll] see how it unfolds.”
The veteran had to leave last weekend’s match late in the fourth quarter after injuring his shoulder when Miami rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. took a charge and clashed with him. The 29-year-old will be reevaluated either at the beginning of the All-Star Break around February 14, or at the start of their post-break schedule which begins in Philadelphia on February 22.
JULIUS RANDLE IS AN ALL-STAR FOR THE THIRD TIME! ⭐️⭐️⭐️ pic.twitter.com/IHSyPjAAzj
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) February 2, 2024
Thibodeau wasn’t sure about the details of his athlete’s medical situation, but it seems Julius has avoided surgery. “I don’t know the specifics on it. I know the rehab has started and I feel sorry for the [physical therapists],” the tactician shared. “You know the way Julius works. So he’s upbeat and he’s feeling better. So just take it day by day and hopefully everything goes well.”
Even though Randle was up for his third All-Star selection, after averaging 24 points, 9.2 rebounds and 5 assists so far this campaign, another one of his teammates will be participating in the highly-awaited weekend for the first time.
Jalen Brunson will make his All-Star debut as reserves for the weekend were announced this Thursday. According to the votes, he narrowly missed out as a starter to Damian Lillard last week. Now NBA commissioner Adam Silver will have to chose a replacement for Randle.
“I’m hopeful that Julius makes it, as well,” the Knicks coach said about his star players’ recognition. “Those things are also a byproduct of the team winning. Obviously, they have to play well, but I know from my end when I’m voting and it’s one of the worst feelings that there is, is there’s a lot of guys who are having great seasons that are deserving and then it comes down to the team’s winning. And I think that goes in our favor and it goes into the impact that they have on winning.”
Before beating the Pacers, Thibodeau was named the East’s Coach of the Month for January
Besides Randle, the New York squad also played without Quentin Grimes and OG Anunoby this Thursday evening in Manhattan. For the former Raptors, this was the third-straight game he misses with an elbow inflammation, while his teammate sat out the match due to a sprained knee. According to their coach, they are both day-to-day situations.
The Knicks are currently coming off the best month that the franchise has enjoyed in three decades, as they’ve produced a 41-2 record in January, and are not sitting comfortably high up the Eastern Conference’s standings.
As they are one game behind the for second place, who is now owned by the Milwaukee Bucks, their tactician has been named the East’s Coach of the Month for January.
“All of the individual stuff, it’s really a byproduct of everyone working together and winning,” Thibodeau explained. “When that happens, any individual stuff is — the organization, it’s the front office, all the coaches certainly — you can’t do it without great players and we’ve got great players that are working well together.”
