NY Knicks: 3 Reasons Why Julius Randle Deserves MVP Votes
By Max LoSardo
NY Knicks: Julius Randle has been as durable as any player in the league
The shortened NBA season has complicated the MVP race. Player after player has gone down with injuries. Whether it’d be from the condensed schedule, the truncated offseason, or a little bit of both, every team has played shorthanded this season. The NY Times’ Marc Stein wrote about this phenomenon last week, saying that “
"“Multiple teams I’ve consulted asserted that this season’s combination of schedule density, travel demands and daily coronavirus testing that cuts into players’ rest time have increased injury risk.”"
Staying healthy and playing night in and night out is no small feat this season, and Julius Randle is in selective company in that regard.
You could name an all-star team of players who’ve missed time this season. Most notably, Joel Embiid, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Anthony Davis, Giannis Antentokumpo, Steph Curry have all been out for one injury or another.
Randle has missed one game with a right thigh contusion. He’s played every other game this season, leading the league in minutes with 2131, averaging 37.4 per game. Only Jokic’s durability rivals Randle’s as Jokic ranks second with 2017 minutes with an average of 35.4. (RJ Barrett has played the third-most minutes this season with 1978, FYI). Jokic and Randle are the only players in the league who’ve played 58 games and average 35.4 minutes per game.
Randle’s already impressive numbers are even more awe-inspiring when you take into account the lack of load management he’s had this season. He shows no sign of slowing down, as the Knicks will jockey for the 4th seed and need every win they can get.