Coming off the heels of a blowout victory over the Rockets, the Knicks managed to win again on Wednesday, taking down the Heat, 101-92. This was a tough, gritty victory.
This game didn’t change where the Knicks are currently in the standings, but it will certainly help their momentum as they enter the final five games of the 2022-23 regular season.
Despite this win, however, New York was dealt a massive blow that could have some repercussions come playoff time. It may not have had an enormous effect on the win, but this could become a real problem in the future.
Knicks lose Julius Randle to sprained left ankle in win over Heat
One thing Julius Randle has been known for over the last couple of seasons has been his durability, playing in 70+ games each of the last three seasons. However, against the Heat, Randle suffered a sprained ankle late in the second quarter that caused him to miss the remainder of the game.
Julius Randle goes down after rolling his ankle, the MSG crowd gives him MVP chants as he limps to the line to shoot his FTs before leaving to the locker room pic.twitter.com/1ISmjEtCNj
— The Knicks Wall (@TheKnicksWall) March 30, 2023
While this is by no means a devastating injury, the time missed alongside issues that could come if his ankle doesn’t heal properly is a cause for concern, especially with the playoffs a little over two weeks away.
Hopefully, things go well in Randle’s recovery and he doesn’t miss too much time, that way he can avoid being rusty when he makes his return.
Outside of Randle’s injury, though, this was a mostly positive game, but not a perfect win. Most notably, Immanuel Quickley had yet another great game, posting 24 points, four assists, and three steals while shooting 8-of-14 from the field and 2-of-5 from deep.
At this point, it seems like the Sixth Man of the Year Award is Quickley’s to lose. With all due respect to Malcolm Brogdon, the only big argument for him to win it over Quickley was his scoring and it seems like Quickley may be the better offensive player at this point.
Aside from Quickley, Josh Hart scored 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field, Quentin Grimes had another big game, scoring 23 of his own points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field. While RJ Barrett didn’t have the best outing, he hit a three down the stretch to essentially put the game away.
The Knicks are set to face off against the Cavaliers, Wizards, Pacers, Pelicans, and Pacers again in their final five games, making for a relatively light schedule to cap off the season before their eventual playoff series against what will most likely be against Cleveland. Let’s hope New York keeps up the good play prior to the team’s playoff appearance.
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