NBA Rumors: The New York Knicks are still expected to welcome back Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson before the start of the NBA Playoffs.
If there's one thing that has been established aside from the Boston Celtics' dominance in the Eastern Conference, it's the fact that the New York Knicks when healthy have the potential to be the second-best team in the conference. Of course, the problem over the last six weeks of the season is the fact that the Knicks have been all that healthy.
However, with less than a month before the start of the NBA Playoffs, there's hope the Knicks can change that. OG Anunoby recently made his return from injury but is still battling some nagging issues on that front. Mitchell Robinson has missed most of the season with an ankle injury and Julius Randle has missed roughly the last two months with a shoulder injury. All that said, the hope is that over the next few weeks, the Knicks will be as close to 100 percent as they've been perhaps all season long.
The timetable for Randle's return is very much unclear but there's still a hope and belief that he will be back before the postseason. Anunoby could bounce in and out of the lineup down the stretch but the same hope is that he'll be ready to go for the start of the playoffs. Perhaps the biggest and most unexpected news for the Knicks on the injury front is that Robinson could be on the cusp of his return too.
According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, the belief is that Robinson will be back before the end of the month. Assuming that this timeline is at least somewhat accurate, it could give Robinson a week or two of games to work his way back into playing shape before the start of the playoffs.
The New York Knicks should be in a great spot to make a deep playoff run
If all goes according to plan, the Knicks should welcome back Anunoby, Randle, and Robinson before the playoffs. For a team that looked as dominant as they did when they were healthy this season (even without Robinson), this should all be considered great news for their chances of making a deep playoff run in the Eastern Conference.
All of a sudden, there's a very real chance that the Knicks are going to be 100 percent healthy heading into the playoffs. And if that does end up being the case, perhaps New York could emerge as the biggest threat to the Celtics in a seven-game playoff series.