NEW YORK — The New York Knicks announced that forward Julius Randle would be reevaluated in two to three weeks for the dislocated right shoulder he suffered in Saturday’s win over the Miami Heat.
“He’s already begun the rehab,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said before Thursday night’s game against the Indiana Pacers at Madison Square Garden. “So just let him work his way through it.
“Encouraged, upbeat, [we’ll] see how it unfolds.”
That timeline means Randle, who left the game late in the fourth quarter after injuring the shoulder when Heat rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. took a charge, will be reevaluated either at the start of the All-Star break — the Knicks’ last pre-break game is Feb. 14 in Orlando against the Magic — or at the start of New York’s post-break schedule, which begins in Philadelphia on Feb. 22.
When asked if surgery had been ruled out, Thibodeau said he wasn’t sure.
“I don’t know the specifics on it. I know the rehab has started and I feel sorry for the [physical therapists],” Thibodeau said with a smile. “You know the way Julius works. So he’s upbeat and he’s feeling better. So just take it day by day and hopefully everything goes well.”
Randle, who is averaging 24 points, 9.2 rebounds and 5 assists, was selected to his third All-Star Game later Thursday when reserves were announced.
With his selection — alongside teammate Jalen Brunson, who received his first All-Star appearance after narrowly missing out as a starter to Damian Lillard last week — NBA commissioner Adam Silver will pick his replacement.
“I’m hopeful that Julius makes it, as well,” Thibodeau said, when asked about the chances of both players being named to the All-Star team. “Those things are also a byproduct of the team winning. Obviously, they have to play well, but I know from my end when I’m voting and it’s one of the worst feelings that there is, is there’s a lot of guys who are having great seasons that are deserving and then it comes down to the team’s winning. And I think that goes in our favor and it goes into the impact that they have on winning.”
The Knicks were also without OG Anunoby and Quentin Grimes on Thursday night, with Anunoby missing his third straight game with elbow inflammation while Grimes sat out with a sprained knee. Thibodeau said both players are day-to-day.
New York is coming off the best month the franchise has had in 30 years, going 14-2 in January to rocket up the Eastern Conference standings and move within a game of the Milwaukee Bucks for second place.
As a result, Thibodeau was named East’s Coach of the Month for January earlier Thursday.
“All of the individual stuff, it’s really a byproduct of everyone working together and winning,” Thibodeau said. “When that happens, any individual stuff is — the organization, it’s the front office, all the coaches certainly — you can’t do it without great players and we’ve got great players that are working well together.”
