Is Julius Randle playing tonight against the Heat? Latest injury update on Knicks' star ahead of matchup (30th April 2023)

Julius Randle and the New York Knicks are fresh off sending the Cleveland Cavaliers home in 5 games with a score of 106-95 to advance into the second round of the playoffs for the first time in ten years.

For Game 1 of the second round, Julius Randle is expected to be out as he sustained an ankle injury in Game 5 against the Cavaliers. Randle was guarding Caris LeVert when he landed awkwardly on his left foot after going up to contest his shot. The Knicks' star was seen limping as he was being helped off the floor after holding on to his knee when he sustained the injury.

After a team practice that was held last Friday, Knicks' coach Tom Thibodeau provided an update on Randle's situation.

"He didn't do much today, but he's feeling a little bit better," Thibodeau said. "He'll go through the rehab, see where he is tomorrow. He's better today than he was yesterday, and that was the big thing, so we're hopeful. He did some cardio work in the pool and lift and some spot shooting."

Based on injury updates provided by Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau and ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Knicks are not keen to rush Randle into playoff action until they are confident with his playing condition. This was also the same injury that Randle sustained on March 29 in a regular-season game against the Miami Heat when he landed on Bam Adebayo's foot after securing a rebound.

Julius Randle finished Game 5 of the first-round series with 13 points on 44.4% shooting, 6 assists and 4 rebounds. The two-time All-Star averaged 14.4 points on 33.8% shooting, 6.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists while logging in 28.6 minutes per game.

The Knicks will also be without Quentin Grimes (right shoulder contusion) and Isaiah Roby (right ankle sprain) as they are both listed as probable for Game 1.

Julius Randle and the New York Knicks going up against the underdog Miami Heat

The Knicks' second-round matchup will be a different kind of competition against the Cavaliers as the Miami Heat took down the team with the best record in the league, the Milwaukee Bucks, in 5 games.

Compared to the playoff inexperience of the Cleveland Cavaliers' young roster, outside of Donovan Mitchell, the Heat have seasoned veterans in playoff action from Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Kyle Lowry, Kevin Love, Max Struss and Gabe Vincent.

The coaching experience is also there for the opposing Heat team in Erik Spoelstra with his two NBA championships and being fresh off an Eastern Conference Finals appearance last year. Spoelstra also became the sixth coach in NBA history to reach 100 playoff wins after their series-clinching victory against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.

It will also be a marquee matchup for Julius Randle to take advantage off as a bounce-back series against Bam Adebayo, especially after having a subpar first-round series against Cleveland.