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Julius Randle should know shortly before Tuesday’s game at the Garden if he will play an extra game this season among the NBA’s elite.
The league will announce its All-Star reservations at 7 p.m. Tuesday on TNT, and Randle remains in consideration – but is not locked out – to be one of the seven added players from the Eastern Conference.
It would mark the first career All-Star designation for Randle, who is in his second season of a three-year, $ 62.1 million contract with the Knicks.
The 26-year-old power forward – and player Tom Thibodeau described Sunday as the “engine” of the Knicks – is certainly a deserving candidate.
Randle set career records for points (23.2), rebounds (11.0), assists (5.5) and minutes (36.8) thanks to the Knicks 15-16 at the start of the game at Tuesday’s home against Golden State. He also shoots 41.0% from 3-point range, a significant improvement from the 29.5% he posted at long distance in his first six seasons in the NBA.
The only other players averaging at least 23-11-5 this season are Giannis Antetokounmpo of Milwaukee and Nikola Jokic of Denver.
However, those impressive numbers – and the Knicks’ big improvement – still might not be enough to land a spot in the East for Randle in the conference head coaching vote.
James Harden of the Nets and Jaylen Brown of Boston will certainly be added in the backcourt, with Ben Simmons also likely to be named second All-Star for conference leader Philadelphia. Celtics forward Jayson Tatum is also expected to land one of the places reserved in the frontcourt.
That leaves just three openings on the 12-man squad, with Randle likely competing with Domantas Sabonis of Indiana, Khris Middleton of Milwaukee, Bam Adebayo of Miami, Tobias Harris of Philadelphia, Nikola Vucevic of Orlando, Gordon Hayward. of Detroit’s Charlotte and Jerami Grant up front, as well as guards Zach LaVine of Chicago, Trae Young of Atlanta and Jimmy Butler of Miami.
If not initially chosen, Randle could still be added as a replacement if a selected player steps back due to injury or COVID-19 issues.
The starting unit for the East includes Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant and Joel Embiid in the frontcourt, along with guards Kyrie Irving and Bradley Beal. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own players as reservists.
The Knicks announced Monday that limited tickets to the March 4 home game against Detroit are on public sale. Tickets were first opened to season ticket holders, followed by the general public, starting at $ 50, on nyknicks.com.
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