Former New York Knicks general manager Scott Perry expressed concern about whether Julius Randle could regain his rhythm in time for the playoffs if he returns from a dislocated shoulder injury.
“Randle had missed the entire offseason due to ankle surgery and we saw how long it took him to get back acclimated to start the season,” Perry said on the “NBA Today” program on March 5. “There were trade requests because he started so slowly. The same thing happened in my last year in New York. He was injured in the last five games of the regular season after having a fantastic regular season and struggled in the playoffs because he could never quite find his rhythm. So it will be critical for the Knicks to get him back.
Randle played despite his sprained ankle and that affected his play in the playoffs. But the Knicks still reached the second round, pushing the eventual Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat to six games despite Randle shooting just 41.1 percent from the field and a horrendous 28.1 percent from deep.