Knicks in trouble: injured Julius Randle

Julius Randle, leader and point of reference for the Knicks who this season has played in all 77 games played so far by New York, missed the entire second half of the match then won against Miami due to a painful ankle sprain – which to look at the pictures don’t look promising at all. Hit during the second half during the attacking rebound fight with Bam Adebayo, Randle saw his opponent collapse on him after a feint and thus collapse right on his ankle. Remaining on the field to throw free throws, Randle was clearly in pain – enough to induce the Knicks to voluntarily commit a foul to stop the game and allow him to leave the floor to undergo the usual tests and checks. Three points and five rebounds in 15 minutes on the court, well below his season averages, but New York has found the best way to exploit the reserves and put Miami on the ropes – in a direct confrontation that brings the Knicks closer to direct qualification to the playoffs without going through the play-in. An opportunity that coach Thibodeau’s boys will have to try to hook up without counting on the help of Randle, who has been diagnosed with a sprained ankle that will keep him out for at least two weeks – causing him to miss the rest of the regular season, in the hope that later to find him on the floor in the playoffs (with the Knicks qualified without having to go through the play-in).