Knicks' Randle feeling great after injury absence
Julius Randle #30 of the New York Knicks controls the ball in the first half against the Chicago Bulls at Madison Square Garden on Monday, March 28, 2022. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Julius Randle wasn’t sure he was ready to come back Sunday, feeling better, but not in the condition he usually tries to maintain after missing the previous three games with a sore right quadriceps tendon. But he went ahead and played in Detroit and managed to navigate through 31 minutes — sometimes with his hands on his knees, trying to recover — and come up with some key contributions in the final minutes.
He spoke afterward about the fatigue, but also said he felt great. And Monday night on the second half of a back-to-back set he was in the starting lineup against the Bulls.
“I missed five games in three years,” Randle said Sunday. “Two of it was my grandmother’s passing and two was COVID. When it comes to actual injury, I’ve missed one game in three years. It lets you know I’d rather play through pain. But for this one, I had to — like I said — force myself to sit down and take the time to get myself right.”
With the Knicks an extreme long shot to qualify for the play-in tournament, entering Monday 4 1/2 games out of the final spot in the East with seven games to play, he couldn’t be blamed if he took more time.
“I mean, it’s always a consideration but for me I love to play the game regardless of playoff picture or not, regardless of whatever the situation was,” he said. “So I never want to cheat the game. If I feel like I’m healthy enough to go out there and play and help my team, regardless of the situation I want to do that.”
Injury updates
While Randle and Mitchell Robinson were ready to go on the back-to-back set, Quentin Grimes was held out again Monday with a sore right knee. “It’s just day-to-day, soreness,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “Make sure it clears up.” . . . One injury update of note was that Thibodeau sounded uncertain about the possibility of Derrick Rose returning this season. Sidelined since Dec. 16 and undergoing two procedures on his ankle, Rose has been on the court and traveling with the team.
“I don’t know,” Thibodeau said. “He’s been out a long time.”
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.
