The rehab process is underway.
That’s the update Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau gave on Julius Randle’s dislocated right shoulder ahead of tipoff against the Indiana Pacers on Thursday.
Randle suffered the injury in the final five minutes of Saturday’s blowout victory over the Miami Heat. The Knicks announced Randle will be re-evaluated in two to three weeks on Thursday, and Thibodeau seemed particularly happy with the status of his two-time All-Star forward pregame.
“He’s already begun the rehab, so just let him work his way through it. So, encouraged, upbeat, see how it unfolds,” he said. Asked if surgery has been ruled out, Thibodeau responded: “I don’t know the specifics on it. I know the rehab has started and I feel sorry for the [personal trainers]. You know the way Jules works. So he’s upbeat and he’s feeling better, so just take it day by day and hopefully everything goes well.”
This update would suggest the Knicks and Randle are foregoing surgery — at least for now. That could change if his shoulder isn’t healing properly when the re-evaluation takes place in the two-to-three-week time period.
If Randle were to undergo surgery at this juncture of the year, it would effectively end his season. He is averaging 24 points, nine rebounds and five assists per game for the Knicks in the 2023-24 campaign.
The only other players in the NBA averaging those stats or better are former league MVPs: Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Denver’s Nikola Jokic and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid.
“I know what he means to our team. And so, I like the way our team has responded. We know we can’t replace what he does individually, so we have to do that collectively,” said Thibodeau. “But the encouraging thing is obviously we’re hopeful that everything goes well, and we think it will. But we’re pleased knowing his makeup. The way he works, he’ll be back as soon as he can be back.”
Thibodeau said as of Thursday he “doesn’t believe” the star forward has undergone any procedure as of yet. Randle was in a similar predicament last season when he hurt his ankle — also in a matchup against the Heat — and missed the final five games of the season.
He played at a limited capacity throughout two playoff rounds before opting for offseason ankle surgery.
Randle played in 64 of 66 possible games in the 2019-20 season, 71 of 72 games in the 2020-21 season, 72 out of 82 games in 2021-22, and 77 out of 82 in 2023-24. Then he played in all 46 games to start this season before dislocating his shoulder on Saturday.
That’s 330 out of 348 games, or a 94.8% attendance record before his shoulder injury.
Randle could have opted to undergo mid-season surgery, but If he were to go under the needle, it would mean more missed games.
“You know his makeup. That’s what you love about the guy. It’ll be full-bore,” said Thibodeau. “He’ll give it everything he has to get back as quick as he can. But we’re not gonna put him in harm’s way. We’re gonna make sure he’s healthy before he gets out there. But we’re encouraged.”
Randle drove down the lane with 4:27 left in the fourth quarter of the Knicks’ 125-109 victory over the Heat when Miami rookie forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. slid in front of him in an attempt to take a charge.
Randle landed awkwardly on his shoulder and grimaced in pain for several moments before a team trainer accompanied him to the locker room.
He was hunched over in pain the entire time.
OG STILL OUT
OG Anunoby missed his third straight game with right elbow inflammation on Thursday. Thibodeau previously characterized Anunoby’s injury as soreness and on Thursday said: “Same thing. Day to day. Little better each day. When he’s ready, he’ll be out there, but just take it day by day.”
Asked what Anunoby can do, Thibodeau said: “He’s been out there, doing some work. We’ve just got to make sure — it’s his right elbow, so we’ve got to make sure he’s ready to go.”
Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle compared Anunoby’s defensive impact for the Knicks to that of Kawhi Leonard, the vaunted defensive stopper playing for the Los Angeles Clippers.
“There’s certain guys you don’t want to bring into the mix,” Carlisle said. “In the West, when we play LAC, we want to keep Kawhi Leonard away from the ball because he just is so positively impactful for them and negative for us. OG has a lot of similarities.”
GRIMES ALSO OUT
Quentin Grimes also missed Thursday’s game against Indiana with a sprained right knee.
“That one, we’ll see where that goes,” Thibodeau said. “The same thing: Soreness, and so you can’t put him out there unless he can move.”
