| The Knicks began life without two-time All-Star forward Julius Randle — for however long that will be — with another next-men-up victory Monday night in Charlotte, winning for the 13th time in 15 games since OG Anunoby first played for them following a late-December trade with the Raptors.
Notably, Anunoby didn't play either against the Hornets due to a last-minute elbow issue, compounding the Knicks' task in their first game without Randle this season after he suffered a dislocated shoulder Saturday against the Heat.
Tom Thibodeau undauntedly went with an eight-man rotation, with Josh Hart and Precious Achiuwa moving into the starting lineup in the 113-92 blowout win over the equally undermanned Hornets, who were without two injured regulars — LaMelo Ball and Gordon Hayward — after dealing a third (Terry Rozier) last week to the Heat.
The win moved the Knicks' record this season to a remarkable 20-0 against teams that began play Monday with a losing record — and, significantly, 1-0 without Randle, who missed his first game of the season after going down in a hushed Garden moment late in Saturday's home win over the Heat.
 Josh Hart and Precious Achiuwa moved into the Knicks starting lineup Monday in a win over the Hornets that wasn't all that close.
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(The Knicks' record against sub-.500 teams actually has fluctuated from zero losses to one on occasion because of the Jazz, who will visit MSG one night after losing Monday in Brooklyn. Utah is now 24-24 after toggling barely above or below the break-even mark, including a win over the Knicks in Salt Lake City on Dec. 13.)
At the very least, the Knicks (30-17) will have to continue on without Randle for the next several weeks, though there is optimism that his injury will not be season-ending, sources confirmed Monday to Post beat writer Stefan Bondy.
What could those weeks look like?
Well, Monday marked the first of the final nine games ahead of the All-Star break, beginning Feb. 15. The next six will be at the Garden, beginning Tuesday night against Utah. (Soon-to-be-named All-Star Jalen Brunson heard loud chants of "MVP" as a visiting player in Charlotte throughout a 32-point effort, and he undoubtedly will be showered with similar love at MSG, especially with Randle sidelined.)
Speaking of the Jazz, they could figure prominently in perhaps the most important upcoming date on the NBA calendar, Feb. 8, the trade deadline. A look at their roster reveals a couple of players who could help the Knicks: former Sixth Man of the Year winner Jordan Clarkson as a potential scoring threat off the bench, and Kelly Olynyk as a hedge at power forward if Randle ends up being sidelined longer than expected.
 Utah's Kelly Olynyk might help provide some of the size the Knicks have lost with injuries to Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson.
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Beyond that, there will be home games against the Pacers (Obi Toppin's return), the Lakers, the Grizzlies, the Mavericks and the Pacers again before road stops in Houston and Orlando on Feb. 12-14 before the break.
Including the Hornets, those opponents had a combined winning percentage of .470 (173-195) through Sunday. Thibodeau will try to keep the Knicks humming with makeshift combinations after they already won games in January without Mitchell Robinson (ankle), Brunson (calf), Hart (knee), Isaiah Hartenstein (Achilles) and now, Randle and Anunoby.
Today's back page  New York Post
Head of the class In every hiring cycle for NFL head coaches, hot offensive or defensive coordinators emerge as leading candidates — and in many cases, the selections — for those positions.
 Andy Reid could become only the fifth coach in history to win three Super Bowls if his Chiefs can beat San Francisco in Las Vegas.
AP
Andy Reid and Kyle Shanahan boast impressive coaching trees with former underlings thriving in other places, but for all of the time spent talking about their former coordinators going elsewhere, the Super Bowl-bound Chiefs and 49ers showed that having a constant and the right person in the head job is more important.
Steve Wilks is the Niners' third defensive coordinator in four years after Robert Saleh left for the Jets in 2021 and DeMeco Ryans led the Texans to a playoff berth this year in his first season in Houston.
Shanahan essentially has served as his own offensive coordinator and play-caller since Mike McDaniel left to take the Dolphins' head coaching job in 2022.
Matt Nagy took over as the Chiefs' offensive coordinator this year after longtime No. 2 Eric Bieniemy laterally took the same position with the Commanders after five years in that role under Reid.
 Kyle Shanahan has seen coordinators on both sides of the ball depart since the last time he guided the 49ers to the Super Bowl in 2020.
AP
Despite all the churn under them, Shanahan and Reid will be squaring off in the Super Bowl for the second time in four years on Feb. 11. The Chiefs will be looking to secure their third title in five years and second in a row — which would make them the first repeat champs since the 2003-04 Patriots — while the Niners are seeking their first title since the 1994 season.
The 65-year-old Reid could join Bill Belichick, Chuck Noll, Bill Walsh and Joe Gibbs as the only head coaches with at least three Super Bowl rings.
All-Star breaking news The NHL All-Star break is upon us, with the league shutting down ahead of the midseason festivities this weekend in Toronto. Here is a snapshot of where the three local teams stand before play resumes next week.
Rangers: The Blueshirts looked like a potential Presidents' Trophy winner, when they opened the season with a scorching 18-4-1 mark under first-year head coach Peter Laviolette. That hasn't been the case, though, for a sizable stretch of the schedule thereafter, with a 12-12-2 mark through Saturday's 7-2 road win over the Senators.
 Igor Shesterkin's recent struggles in goal have contributed to the Rangers' sluggish play since the turn of the year.
Robert Sabo for the NY Post
All-Star goalie Igor Shesterkin is going to need to play better than the 3.25 goals-against average and the .863 save percentage he's posted over his past 10 starts (4-5-1) if the first-place Rangers (63 points) are to hold off the Hurricanes (61, with one game in hand) in the Metropolitan Division over their final 33 games. Especially with center Filip Chytil officially not returning this season after suffering a setback over the weekend from his suspected concussion, a hole team president Chris Drury needs to address before the March 8 trade deadline.
Islanders: Hall of Fame president Lou Lamoriello certainly hasn't been afraid to make bold coaching moves since heading up the Isles' front office in 2018, including the hiring and firing of Stanley Cup winner Barry Trotz and the addition earlier this month of goaltending legend Patrick Roy to replace the ousted Lane Lambert. Roy hasn't had the desired immediate impact yet that Lamoriello was hoping for with his middling team, with only one win in the first four games (1-2-1) since the change was made. The Isles hit the break four points behind the Flyers for the third playoff position in the Metro and five behind the Red Wings for the second wild-card spot. Lamoriello might need to add another scorer at the deadline to get there.
One more thing, nothing against also-deserving Mathew Barzal, but if the Isles only were going to get one All-Star representative, it should have been breakout defenseman Noah Dobson, who is third among NHL defensemen in scoring (6-46-52) with a plus-21 rating.
 Noah Dobson is third in scoring among all NHL defensemen but he will not be headed to Toronto to play in next weekend's All-Star Game.
NHLI via Getty Images
Devils: The most disappointing of the three area squads after last season's 112-point regular season and their first-round elimination of the Rangers, the Devils are a point behind the Islanders with 51 (24-20-3). All-Star center Jack Hughes already has missed 15 games and remains week-to-week with an upper-body injury. He will be in Toronto this weekend and there's a chance he'll be back on the ice alongside his All-Star defenseman brother Quinn Hughes of the Canucks, but the Devils need him healthy for the stretch run if they are to push for a second straight postseason appearance.
What we're reading 👀 🏀 Replacing Julius Randle's production is going to be "an enormous challenge," writes Mike Vaccaro, but given the cautiously optimistic news that Randle's return can be measured in weeks, and not days, Knicks fans can breathe a sigh of relief that the hopes they had for this season remain, even if they may be on hold for a while.
🏈 Yes, we've all heard the complaints from fans and talking heads alike about the attention Taylor Swift is getting at Chiefs games. But Brian Costello wonders why everyone seems so worked up about a woman who is drawing countless new fans to the NFL. Is that so bad?
🏀 It's fair to say that not even the Nets knew exactly what to expect from Ben Simmons in his first game back in almost three months. But after almost notching a triple-double in a little more than 19 minutes of work against the Jazz Monday night in Brooklyn, Simmons' return could not have gone better. "He gave them pace, and a transition game. And a 147-114 rout of Utah," writes Brian Lewis.
⚾ Aaron Hicks — remember him — just signed a one-year deal with the Angels for a league-minimum $740,000? Why so little? Hold your jokes, Yankees fans, it's your team that is footing most of the bill.
🏈 It's Senior Bowl week, which means NFL Draft season is in full swing. The Giants are in Mobile, Ala., with a lengthy list of needs, from a QB to a defensive coordinator, writes Paul Schwartz.
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