How far can Knicks go in 2024 NBA playoffs without Julius Randle?

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One tweet dashed the Knicks roster, staff, fanbase and championship hopes on Thursday night, as it was reported that Julius Randle is headed for season-ending surgery.

The star separated his shoulder against the Miami Heat in late January and initially opted for rehab over surgery in the hope he’d be able to return by the playoffs.

Now the Knicks will have to march into the postseason without a top talent, bound for his third All-NBA team in the blue and orange. Randle averaged 24 points, 9.2 rebounds and five assists before going down, and 24.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists on 47.9 percent shooting from the field and 36.7 percent from deep after the OG Anunoby trade.

They’ve gone 15-14 since losing Randle and Anunoby, with a top-ten defense, 11th overall net rating and a mixed bag of impressive wins and rough losses. They’ve remained competitive, against anybody, thanks to heroic efforts from Jalen Brunson down the roster.

The good news is they were 3-0 with Anunoby during his brief return in mid-March. He’s expected to return, which will give the Knicks a major boost in the wake of this Randle news.

The question remains, how far can this Knicks team go in the playoffs without Randle?

Assuming no further injuries, the Knicks will have a choice of going back to their Josh Hart-Anunoby starting frontcourt or going with Hart off the bench and keeping Miles McBride at the two. It could depend on the postseason matchup, but Hart appears the likely choice given his experience and size.

Off the bench would be Mitchell Robinson, Bojan Bogdanovic, one of Hart or McBride, and potentially Precious Achiuwa or Alec Burks. Even losing some topside strength, the Knicks boast a nine-plus-man rotation of good, high-effort players.

Is that enough to beat their eventual first-round matchup, which could wind up being either the Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, or one of Boston or Milwaukee via the Play-In Tournament?

We got a sample of how Brunson might lead a Randle-less Knicks team against Cleveland in last year’s playoffs, as he missed the second half of Game 5 and largely wasn’t himself nor playing normal…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/far-knicks-2024-nba-playoffs-140022873.html

Author : SNY

Publish date : 2024-04-05 14:00:22

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