Josh Hart Gives Shocking Statement on Status of Randle, Anunoby
On what was already a disappointing night as the Knicks lost to the Thunder things got even more bleak.
On a night where the Knicks battled back and forth before losing at the buzzer with one of the Western Conference's best in the Oklahoma City Thunder, all you could think about what the ceiling could be if this team was at full health.
The squad played the game without Mitchell Robinson, who had just returned from an ankle injury in the season, and missed Jalen Brunson for a long stretch of the game as he dealt with an injury from landing on a Thunder player's foot.
The Knicks have continued to hope for the returns of OG Anunoby and Julius Randle, however, Josh Hart gave the fans little to be optimistic about.
"I'm looking at it like this is the team we have. I think that's how we have to approach it, that those guys aren't coming back and obviously we'll be pleasantly surprised if they come back."
- Josh Hart
If the Knicks are without Julius Randle and OG Anunoby for the playoffs it would be a massive disappointment. The Knicks with OG Anunoby in the roster are 15-2 while allowing an average of 98.2 and scoring 113.24 PPG. The team when fully healthy feels like an Eastern Conference Championship contender while without Anunoby and Randle the team feels undermanned.
The Knicks have eight games remaining in the season, making a return to full health and keeping Brunson active the top priority. The first round will officially begin in 19 days, giving us just under three weeks to see if Randle and Anunoby can return.
What's the Knicks' ceiling without Randle and Anunoby?
If the season ended today, the Knicks would be fourth in the East and would open up the playoffs against the Orlando Magic. In that series, it would be difficult to see the Knicks win against what may be the best defensive team in the league as they'd key in on Brunson.
If the Knicks were able to pull off the first-round series, they'd then face a fully healthy Celtics team, which in all likelihood would spell the end of an exciting New York season. Fully healthy, you'd feel confident that the Knicks could beat the Magic while the Celtics could be a true toss-up.
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