Knicks' Julius Randle practices; will he be ready for Game 1?
Knicks forward Julius Randle (30) eyes the basket in second quarter during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference first round playoffs at Madison Square Garden on April 23, 2023. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
GREENBURGH — The Knicks took to the practice court on Friday to begin preparations for their second-round playoff series against the Miami Heat and did it with at least some participation from the entire team. Julius Randle returned to the court after spraining his left ankle again in Wednesday night’s clincher in Cleveland.
Randle, who had sat out the final five games of the regular season with a sprained ankle — suffered against Miami when he landed on Bam Adebayo’s foot on March 29 — turned the ankle again in the second quarter on Wednesday. But this time he was back doing some on-court work just two days later, raising hopes that he could be ready for Sunday’s Game 1.
“He didn’t do much today, but he’s feeling a little bit better,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “So he’ll go through the rehab, see where he is tomorrow. He’s better today than he was yesterday, and that was a big thing. So we’re hopeful.”
Thibodeau said the shooting at the end of practice was Randle’s only court work but added, “He did some cardio work in the pool and [weightlifting].”
Asked if this injury was less severe than the first sprain, Thibodeau said, “Yeah, the big thing, that was the initial reaction. So just hopeful. Take it day to day.”
The Knicks had Quentin Grimes back for a full practice after he missed the second half of Game 3 and the final two games of the first round with a right shoulder contusion. Grimes said he had an MRI that confirmed the injury.
“It [happened on] one of the screens,” he said. “I kind of got just nicked up a little bit. I thought I was fine to keep playing through it, and it just kept getting worse and worse and worse. I couldn’t even really lift it for a little bit, but it was kind of a freak thing just hitting a screen.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
