The Knicks have gone from hype to horror; from crossovers to crossed fingers.
Julius Randle will miss his first game of the season Monday in Charlotte after dislocating his right shoulder Saturday, but there was no further update on Randle’s condition Sunday.
Initial X-rays a day earlier showed the dislocation, and Randle was expected to undergo an MRI exam on Saturday night.
The results are not yet publicly known, though coach Tom Thibodeau acknowledged after the win over the Heat he was “very” concerned.
The largest scare of the team’s season — coming at a point when the Knicks are playing their best basketball of the season — has threatened to flatten the hopes of a team that has won 12 of 14 since OG Anunoby arrived.
According to a couple of orthopedic surgeons who have not evaluated Randle, the best-case scenario for Randle would be a two- or three-week absence, and the worst case would be surgery that likely would end his season.
Dr. Dennis DeBernardis, who specializes in shoulder and elbow surgery at Rothman Orthopaedic Institute in Manhattan and Jersey City, said the X-rays would have shown whether the ball was still out of its socket and can indicate if there is bone damage.
The MRI would have provided a more sensitive look at the bone and shown the severity of damage to the labrum, which is the soft tissue that surrounds the socket.
With dislocations, there is nearly always some amount of damage to the labrum.
If only a small portion of the labrum is damaged, treating the injury without surgery would be an option to expedite Randle’s return.
“Let’s say they recommend no surgery,” DeBernardis said over the phone. “Then he can come back to playing once he has full range of motion, full strength and no pain. Those are the major criteria.
“Once you do that, you can come back to play. … In general, that could be up to two to three weeks. That could be up to six to eight weeks. Depends on how fast he progresses.”
Dr. Clint Soppe, whose specialties at Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles include sports medicine and shoulder injuries and who is an orthopedic consultant for the LA Galaxy, pointed to Dwyane Wade’s 2006-07 season.
The then-Heat star dislocated his left shoulder on Feb. 21, 2007, but elected to rehab his shoulder and delay surgery until after the campaign.
He missed 23 games over 6 ¹/₂ weeks but returned successfully, then underwent surgery after a playoff run.
In this best-case, no-surgery scenario for Randle, there would be concerns.
Once a first dislocation occurs, people are more prone to re-dislocation. Randle — about as physical a player as the NBA has — could be putting himself in harm’s way.
“When you damage that soft tissue, you’re at risk to dislocate it again,” DeBernardis said. “Especially if you are young like he is; if you play an aggressive, overhead sport, so we can consider basketball an overhead sport because he shoots in that position.”
It is possible doctors recommend surgery to fix soft-tissue damage.
Such a determination would mean Randle would miss several months and potentially the rest of the season.
A “really quick recovery” from surgery, DeBernardis said, would be under three months, but that would be uncommon.
More likely, Soppe said, would be a four- to six-month timetable.
There are about 2 ¹/₂ months left in the regular season.
There is a slight silver lining that Randle, a lefty, dislocated his right shoulder, but he still needs full motion in both arms.
“I think it’s probably a little bit better [than the left shoulder],” Soppe said. “But it’s still basketball. You’re going for rebounds.”
Another silver lining: “It’s very uncommon” that labrum surgery would be a career-ender, DeBernardis said. The vast majority of players are able to bounce back.
But not immediately.
Randle went down with 4 ¹/₂ minutes left in a game the Knicks led by 17.
The bull of a forward had bullied his way to the hoop as Miami’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. attempted to take a charge.
Randle went up, then tried to cushion his fall by sticking out his right palm on his way down.
The rest of his 250-pound body forced his right arm out, dislocating his shoulder.
Randle — “a warrior,” as Thibodeau said — did not fight to remain in the game, instead trudging immediately to the locker room.
In an era of load management, Randle had suited up in every game this season despite an arthroscopic procedure on his left ankle in early June, which clearly bothered him at the start of the campaign.
He played all but the final five games of last season, when he took a short breather to rest his ankle to allow him to be ready for the playoffs.