The New York Knicks will have to finish the regular season without Julius Randle.
The Knicks All-Star sustained a sprained left ankle against the Miami Heat on Wednesday and will be out at least until he is reevaluated in two weeks, the team announced Thursday. With only 10 days until the Knicks’ regular-season finale on April 9, the news effectively ends Randle’s regular season.
The injury appeared to occur late in the second quarter when Randle landed on the foot of Heat center Bam Adebayo. Randle’s foot clearly bent in an awkward way, resulting in him limping in clear pain before heading to the locker room.
Randle finished the game with three points on 1-of-5 shooting and five rebounds in 14 minutes. The Knicks eventually won 101-92.
The loss of Randle is a big one for the 44-33 Knicks, who currently sit in fifth place in the Eastern Conference. With 2.5 games separating them from the sixth-place Brooklyn Nets and four games from the seventh-place Heat with five games to play, it at least seems unlikely the development costs them a spot in the standings.
The bigger question will be how much Randle the Knicks can get in the NBA playoffs, where they are currently on track to face the fourth-place Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round. Even if Randle returns before April 15, the first day of the playoffs, he still might need time to get up to speed.
After Wednesday, Randle is averaging 25.1 points, 10.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game with 45.9% shooting and 34.3% from deep.