Knicks’ Randle needs shoulder surgery, will miss rest of season
Julius Randle needs surgery on his right shoulder and will miss the rest of the season, a crushing blow for a New York Knicks team that was surging before the All-Star forward was hurt in January.
The Knicks said Thursday that Randle would be re-evaluated in five months, meaning it’s unclear if he will even be ready for the start of next season.
But they had focused on their possibilities for this season when Randle dislocated his shoulder Jan. 27 in a victory over the Miami Heat. The Knicks ended up 14-2 that month, tied for the second-most wins in franchise history in a month.
But without Randle, and fellow starters OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson out for most of their games since then, the Knicks had fallen into fifth place in the Eastern Conference entering their game Thursday against Sacramento.
Randle told Bleacher Report he decided on surgery after re-injuring the shoulder during a full-contact workout more than a month ago — though Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau has consistently said Randle was never cleared to take contact.
Thibodeau clarified after the Knicks’ victory over the Kings that Randle had been working out with controlled contact, meaning there were pads involved. He didn’t say there was a setback, but rather that Randle may have felt more soreness after some workouts.
PELICANS: Zion Williamson’s long-awaited first playoff push with the New Orleans Pelicans won’t be pain free.
Williamson injured a finger on his shooting hand while blocking a shot shortly before halftime of New Orleans’ 117-108 loss to Orlando on Wednesday night.
But some good news arrived on Thursday when coach Willie Green said after practice that Williamson’s finger did not appear to have structural damage. Green added that Williamson would be listed as day to day on the club’s injury report leading up to tonight’s home game against San Antonio.
“Just banged it against the backboard really hard,” Williamson said after the game.
Williamson kept playing after the injury, but not before heading to the locker room to have it examined. The last of his 15 points came on a dunk in the fourth quarter, but he also sat out the game’s final seven-plus minutes.