Knicks’ Julius Randle out vs. Hawks Because of Quad Injury

AP Photo/Carlos Osorio

New York Knicks star Julius Randle will miss at least one game with a quad injury.

The team announced Randle won’t play on Tuesday against the Atlanta Hawks because of a sore right quadriceps tendon.

This will be just the third game Randle has missed all season. He sat out back-to-back games on Dec. 31 and Jan. 2 after entering the league’s health and safety protocols. 

While Randle suffered a broken leg during his rookie season with the Los Angeles Lakers, he has been fairly durable since. He appeared in 64 or more games in the following six seasons heading into the 2021-22 campaign.

When healthy, he is one of the focal points of New York’s offense.

Randle is averaging 20.3 points, 10.0 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game while shooting 41.3 percent from the field and 30.7 percent from deep this season after he made his first career All-Star Game during the 2020-21 campaign.

The University of Kentucky product was also an All-NBA second team selection last season while helping lead the Knicks to the playoffs.

New York will miss Randle’s presence if he is sidelined, but look for the combination of Jericho Sims, Cam Reddish and Alec Burks to see more playing time.          

The Knicks are barely hanging on in the race for the final play-in spot in the Eastern Conference. Their 30-41 record is tied with the Washington Wizards for 11th in the east. They are five games behind the Hawks for the 10 seed with 11 games remaining.