With their recent 113-100 loss against the defending champions, the Denver Nuggets, the New York Knicks have slipped to the fifth seed in the East, with the Orlando Magic surpassing them last night. However, their woes don’t end there. The primary cause of their struggles lies in the injury woes plaguing key players like Mitchell Robinson, OG Anunoby, and Julius Randle.

Both Robinson and Anunoby have been major contributors to the Knicks squad, but perhaps no player holds a bigger sway over their playoff prospects than Julius Randle. The 29-year-old has already missed 23 games due to his dislocated shoulder, and it looks like he is set to miss some more before returning to action.

SNY’s Ian Begley reports that Randle has not yet received clearance for contact, and according to coach Tom Thibodeau, the 3-time All-Star’s status remains unchanged for now. Randle picked up this shoulder injury during the Knicks’ 125-109 victory over their conference rivals, the Miami Heat. In the 4:27 mark of the fourth quarter, Randle collided with Heat rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. while driving to the basket.

Earlier last week, Tom Thibodeau gave an update on OG Anunoby’s status and said, “You can’t work backwards. There’s many steps he had to go through. He met all the markers. This is a possibility. Whenever you come back from surgery, this is what you’re looking at. And so, we feel good about where he is… Just give him the time he needs…”

On the other hand, since Julius’s injury, the Knicks have gone 12-11. But what’s more concerning is the significant drop-off in their offensive efficiency. In the 46 games Julius played this season, the Knicks averaged 115.4 points per game, while they are averaging 104.9 points per game without him, a staggering ten-point difference.

Julius Randle’s playoff slump

Before the injury, Randle was having yet another amazing season, averaging 24.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game. Although he was shooting below his career average from beyond the arc, he was making it up from the field, converting 47.2% of his attempts. While having him at full health could propel the Knicks ceiling to the Eastern Conference Finals, there’s a hitch.

Julius Randle has had a history of playing below expectations come playoff time. We saw it happen during the 2020–21 season, when he shot below 30% from the field and 33% from three, ultimately losing to the Atlanta Hawks. It was the same story last season when he tallied 14.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.0 assists on 33/24/70 shooting in the team’s series win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. During the next series against the Heat, his volume went slightly up, but his efficiency was 28% from deep on nearly six and a half attempts per game. The New York Knicks ultimately lost that series, and now we’re here.

With only 13 games remaining for the Knicks, no return timeline for Randle spells trouble for the Knicks. Similarly, there is no set return date for OG Anunoby (elbow), while Mitchell Robinson (ankle) is slowly inching toward a comeback.

Read More: Knicks Injury Report: NYU Sports Surgeon Details OG Anunoby’s Rehab Process In Concerning Update For New York