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The New York Knicks have a golden opportunity to get to the conference finals after the Miami Heat took out the No. 1 Milwaukee Bucks in the first round. The Knicks have had Miami’s number this season and have homecourt advantage in this second-round series. However, the status of power forward Julius Randle is up in the air after he suffered an ankle injury in Game 5 against the Cavaliers. Here are the latest updates on Randle’s status.
Julius Randle injury updates
Update: Shortly after Woj’s report, the Knicks ruled out Randle for Game 1 officially.
Update: According to Adrian Wojnarowski, Randle is expected to be out for Game 1 against the Heat due to his ankle injury. The forward will try to make a return in Game 2 Tuesday. For now, the Knicks will likely lean on Barrett, Toppin and Robinson in the frontcourt.
Knicks All-Star F Julius Randle (ankle sprain) is expected to be out for Game 1 vs. Miami today, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 30, 2023
Randle is officially listed as questionable, and it sounds like he was progressing well heading into the weekend. The Knicks will be cautious with him, but they’ll get a nice boost offensively if he does show up.
New York has plenty of size with Mitchell Robinson, Obi Toppin and Isaiah Hartenstein all playing well at the moment, so Randle’s absence wouldn’t have a seismic impact defensively. R.J. Barrett, Jalen Brunson and Immanuel Quickley might see more shots on offense if Randle were to be sidelined for this game.