Julius Randle clears protocols, questionable vs. Pacers

New York Knicks forward Julius Randle Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

Knicks PF Julius Randle clears health and safety protocols, questionable vs. Pacers

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated 1/4/22

New York Knicks forward Julius Randle was placed in the NBA's health and safety protocols just prior to the end of the 2021 calendar year. The team has lost two straight games without the All-Star, but there's now a chance they'll be getting Randle back in action on Tuesday.

Julius Randle is out of health and safety protocols, Knicks say. Randle is questionable for tonight against the Pacers, because of his conditioning.
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) January 4, 2022

The Knicks (17-20) are scheduled to host the Pacers (14-23) at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

Randle -- who won the 2020-2021 Most Improved Player of the Year award -- is in his eighth NBA season and second with New York. The 27-year-old broke out last year, setting career-highs in points (24.1), rebounds (10.2) and assists per game (6.0), while shooting a career-best 41.1% from three-point range and 81.1% from the free throw line.

Randle also started and played in 71 of the team's 72 contests, led the league in minutes per game at 37.6, was the Eastern Conference Player of the Month for April and was named second team All-NBA. The former No. 7 overall pick leads the Knicks in scoring, rebounding and assists this season, but his numbers are down across the board.

His 19.3 points per game are his lowest since his final season with the Lakers in 2017-2018, and his 10.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per contest are slightly less than last year as well. He's also shooting a career-worst 41.7% from the field.

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