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The New York Knicks limping to a 6-8 record without Julius Randle reminded the franchise and its fanbase of the value the three-time All-Star forward brings to the table.
NBA TV analyst and former Knicks lottery pick Channing Frye believes Randle is their most talented player even after the arrival and emergence of All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson.
“[Expletive] yeah. I don’t think that’s a hot take,” Frye told the New York Post. “He’s 6-9, 280 [lbs.]. And he was in the MVP conversation three years ago. Now is Jalen Brunson more skilled and has a better feel for the game? Yeah, probably. But most talented? It’s not even close. I think they would even tell you that.”
Despite the warts in his game, Randle proves to be the biggest difference for the Knicks between plunging into the play-in tournament to hosting a first-round series at Madison Square Garden.
Missing Julius Randle’s Impact
The Knicks are sorely missing his inside presence that forced opposing defenses to not throw constant double teams on Brunson.
The Golden State Warriors threw Moses Moody, a 6-foot-5 athletic wing with a 7-foot-wingspan at Brunson and the Knicks All-Star struggled to score 27 points on 25 shots.
Jonathan Kuminga and Stephen Curry‘s inside-outside attack buried the Knicks to a 110-99 loss to end February with a 4-8 record after going 14-2 in January.
Randle, a walking double-double, averaging 24.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists before he went down with the injury, would have helped the Knicks who were minus-14 in points in the paint against the Warriors.
The 35-25 Knicks are now just one game above the play-in teams trailing them in the standings with a tough schedule ahead.
Following a much-needed two-day rest, the Knicks will travel to Cleveland to face the second-seed Cavaliers (38-20) before a pivotal four-game slate which includes a tough matchup against the Orlando Magic and a back-to-back meeting against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Channing Frye’s Advice to Knicks All-Star
As Randle opted for rehab rather than season-ending surgery, Frye gave him unsolicited advice coming from his own experience of the same injury during his career.
“You just have to be ready. If you’re committed to just playing through it, there are things that are just going to flat-out hurt. Flat out. It’s going to hurt,” Frye told The Post. “But that might not be every game. For me, Julius, he’s going to have to adjust quickly.”
Frye dislocated his shoulder twice in 2011 and 2012 with the second pop finally forcing him to get the surgery. Randle’s bully ball style of play makes him more prone to re-occurrence.
“For [Randle], he’s a big ol’ dude. Make sure you do your rehab stuff every day without fail. You had to rehab the crap out of it,” Frye told The Post. “If we have practice at 9 o’clock, I got to get there at 8 because I have a whole hour just for my shoulder. To stretch it out, warm it up. It’s just something you got to do.”
There is no timetable for Randle’s return but the hope is he’ll be ready for the playoffs.
Last season, Randle suffered an ankle injury in the last five games heading into the playoffs. He deferred getting surgery in the offseason as he courageously played through pain. But his impact was never the same as he struggled shooting just 37.4% from the field and 25.8% from the 3-point line.
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