Knicks Media Roundup: OG and Randle timetables, Eastern Conference Finalists!?

It’s been that type of season for the New York Knicks, hasn’t it? Now, that doesn’t mean the team has really suffered from having to navigate more injuries than any other team this side of the Atlantic.

With just 14 games left in their regular-season schedule, the Knicks are currently in possession of the no. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference boasting a solid 41-27 record only topped by Cleveland (two games ahead), Milwaukee (three), and Boston (13).

New York will enter Thursday’s matchup at the Denver Nuggets still in fourth leading both Orlando and Philadelphia by half a game and a full game each, although it’s also true that all top six teams in the East have won at least their most recent games through Tuesday’s slate, including five of those six having back-to-back wins or longer winning streaks. Yikes!

Not everything is rosy in Manhattan, however, as OG Anunoby was ruled out of Monday’s game at Golden State and he even took a plane back to New York City to undergo a fresh MRI on his operated elbow—which thankfully came back negative.

On Tuesday, appearing on ESPN’s NBA Countdown, Adrian Wojnarowski shared some intel about OG’s situation, saying the Knicks forward “is going to be out more than just [Monday]” and that his right elbow “has flared up again.”

Added Woj: “[The Knicks] need it to calm down. How long he is out is unclear but it’s certainly a concern for this Knicks team.”

Perhaps more interesting was Woj’s information regarding Julius Randle, who has been out since Jan. 27 and whose return-to-the-court date is still undetermined. According to information fed to Woj, the Knicks do “not know the status of Julius Randle moving forward.”

As a follow-up to Woj’s report, SNY’s Ian Begley chimed in on the conversation from his own HQ and added some more intel to what has become publicly available of late via pre/post-game press conferences and media availability appearances by head coach Tom Thibodeau.

According to Begley, in a column published on Tuesday, Mar. 19, “The approach to Anunoby’s current ailment will be a conservative one, per people briefed on the matter.”

Begley wrote that the Knicks “will not rush Anunoby back,” although he noted that “the irritation in his elbow has shown improvement since Monday.”

Moving on to Randle, Begley revealed that he had spoken to three people of late “who are familiar with the situation,” and that all of them “expressed confidence that Randle would ultimately return to the court.”

Quickly after that, Begley added: “The timetable for both Anunoby and Julius Randle is uncertain,” saying that the expectation is for the Knicks to be “without the combination of Anunoby and Randle for at least a few more games.”

Finally, Knicks fanatic Stephen A. Smith took ESPN’s First Take stage on Tuesday and proclaimed New York to be the biggest threat to the Boston Celtics in the run for the Eastern Conference title and a berth in the NBA Finals.

“Let me tell you something right now, OK? If the New York Knicks get healthy, I believe they are the number one threat to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference. I think they’re going to the Conference Finals,” Smith said.

“Now, obviously, that’s a lot to ask. Julius Randle’s separated shoulder—I don’t know if he’s ever going to be healthy, I was so depressed when he got hurt,” he kept saying.

“Listen, they are 14 games over .500. They’d be at least 20 games over .500 had Julius Randle never gotten hurt, OK? They went on no damn slump,” Smith explained. “Don’t get me started with OG Anunoby and how efficient they have been defensively.

“Mitchell Robinson? If you had that big boy, a rebounder, a shot blocker,... the defense is already elite without him—imagine what they would have been with him! So I’m looking at it from that standpoint.

“I love the pickups of [Alec] Burks, [Precious] Achiuwa, and obviously [Bojan] Bogdanovic... I’m looking at the New York Knicks right now, and let me tell y’all something—Orange and Blue skies, baby, Orange and Blue skies.”

Finished Stephen A. Smith: “If the New York Knicks get healthy, they’re going to the Conference Finals. That means Milwaukee gets bounced out—I want Miami again, I want a second shot at Miami, this ain’t last year!—you’re lucky they got hurt because they would be destined for the Conference Finals.

“But obviously, they are not healthy, and that’s my malady right now... It’s not good, it’s like a black cat running around—but it’s OK, it’s OK.”