In the midst of the most impressive season the Knicks have had in a decade, Julius Randle, New York’s leading scorer and likely All-NBA forward, not only hit an impossible game-winning jumper against rival Miami in early March. He also plopped down a career-best 57 points on March 20 against the Timberwolves at Madison Square Garden.
One week later, last Wednesday, Randle rolled his left ankle so severely that, beyond his inability to stand for nearly a minute, the Garden crowd of 19,812 collectively gasped when the replay was shown on the jumbotron. With the playoffs beginning in 11 days, it naturally raises two nauseating questions for Knicks fans. First, how much time Randle will miss? And secondly, what all does it mean for a solid team that can realistically compete for a playoff round or two?
