NBA
Julius Randle was benched the entire fourth quarter yesterday and is reportedly still dealing with an ankle injury
Zach Wolpin is an NBA and NFL expert who's been betting on the league for over three years now. Wolpin has been a fan of the NBA and has been watching for a decade and a half. He covers the latest news and stories surrounding the league daily. His passion in life is watching sports and being able to share that through his sports writing. He has written about the NBA and other sports leagues through various media outlets over the years like Sir Charles In Charge, G-Men HQ, and TAP into South Plainfield. Before he became an NBA News Writer, Wolpin attended Montclair State University where he graduated in 2021. He studied Sports Media and Writing while in school.
All posts by Zach WolpinUpdated24 Apr 2023
The New York Knicks took a 3-1 series lead vs the Cleveland Cavaliers after a 102-93 win at home yesterday. All-star PF Julius Randle sprained his ankle on March 29 shortly before the start of the playoffs. He missed the final five games of the regular season to be ready for the first round. Head coach Tom Thibodeau sat Randle the entire fourth quarter last night. It was clear that Randle was not himself last night and luckily the Knicks had other players to rely on.
If this were last season, the Knicks would not have won that game last night. However, off-season additions like Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Isaiah Hartenstein fueled New York last night when Julius Randle struggled. Randle played only 27 minutes last night and ended with seven points and two rebounds.
Game 5 is not until Wednesday and Randle will have time to recover until then. New York Sports Betting sites have the Knicks at (+190) to win Game 5 on the road to close out the series.
Julius Randle this postseason:
14.8 PPG
7.0 RPG
2.3 APG
3.5 TPG
32/26/64%— Lowest FG% by a player minimum 30 FGA
— More turnovers than assists
— 2nd most turnovers by a forward
— Most missed shots by a forward
— Benched in the 4th quarter of game 4
— Ball (@BallMuse23) April 23, 2023
Julius Randle will have an extra day to rest before Game 5 on Wednesday
Tom Thibodeau praised Julius Randle for being able to play in this series as his ankle injury came just before the start of playoffs. In Game 1 he scored 19 points and then followed that up with 22 in Game 2. However, he’s scored 18 combined points in Games 3 and 4, with just seven points last night. Randle went 3-10 from the field and 0-4 from deep.
The two-time all-star is now 21-65 in the first four games of this opening-round series vs the Cavaliers. Quentin Grimes was out for Game 4 yesterday and that plugged Josh Hart into the starting lineup. In his first career playoff start, he had 19 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists. Hart played those fourth-quarter minutes last night while Randle was benched and he’s been invaluable to the Knicks since they traded for him.
Randle was not in the locker room last night when the media was allowed in for availability. With a win yesterday, the Knicks are one step closer to winning their first playoff series since 2013.
