New York Knicks star Julius Randle has cleared the NBA's health and safety protocols and is questionable for Tuesday night's game against the Indiana Pacers, the team announced.

Randle entered COVID protocols on Dec. 30. The Knicks big man has missed the last two games. He could miss a third game if he's not ready to play just yet because of conditioning.

Whenever Randle does return, New York is hoping he'll be rejuvenated after struggling to recapture his magic from last season at the start of this 2021-22 campaign. The Knicks star made All-NBA in 2020-21, but he has been a shell of that player so far this season as New York is off to a disappointing 17-20 start.

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Randle is averaging 19.3 points, 10.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists while shooting just 41.7% overall and 32.8% from 3-point range. This comes after he averaged 24.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists while shooting 45.6% overall and 41.1% from 3-point land last season.

In his last game before entering COVID protocols, Randle had one of his worst games of the season, scoring just five points on 2-of-11 shooting while registering a minus-27 in the box score against the lowly Detroit Pistons. The Knicks' entire starting lineup got crushed in that game, but a marvelous performance by the bench unit resulted in a victory.

New York's starters have had their issues all season, with Randle's regression playing a key role. The Knicks are going to need Randle to improve if they're going to make any noise after their breakout 2020-21 campaign.