If there’s one thing that has been established aside from the Boston Celtics’ dominance in the Eastern Conference, it’s the fact that the New York Knicks, when healthy, have the potential to be the second-best team in the conference. Of course, the problem in the last six weeks of the season is the fact that the Knicks have been so healthy.
However, with less than a month until the start of the NBA playoffs, there is hope that the Knicks can turn things around. OG Anunoby recently returned from injury, but is still battling some nagging issues on that front. Mitchell Robinson missed most of the season with an ankle injury and Julius Randle missed about the last two months with a shoulder injury. That said, the hope is that in the next few weeks the Knicks will be close to 100% as perhaps they have been all season.
The timetable for Randle’s return is not very clear, but there is still hope and belief that he will be back before the postseason. Anunoby could bounce in and out of the lineup down the stretch, but the same hope is that he will be ready for the start of the playoffs. Perhaps the biggest and most unexpected news for the Knicks on the injury front is that Robinson could be on the verge of returning as well.
According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, the belief is that Robinson will be back before the end of the month. Assuming this timeline is at least somewhat accurate, it could give Robinson a week or two of games to get back into shape before the playoffs begin.