When the New York Knicks signed Isaiah Hartenstein to a 2-year, $16 million contract in the 2023 offseason, it seemed like a solid yet unspectacular move.
Hartenstein was coming off a strong season with the Los Angeles Clippers where he served as an elite backup center, but his role and fit with the Knicks was unclear.
Fast forward several months later, and the partnership between Hartenstein and the Knicks has blossomed into a perfect match. Hartenstein has become an indispensable two-way force and fan favorite in Gotham City, while helping lead the Knicks back to contention in the Eastern Conference.
Hartenstein’s Winding Road to New York
Although he’s only 25 years old, Hartenstein has already had a journeyman’s career in the NBA.
After being drafted 43rd overall by the Houston Rockets in 2017, Hartenstein bounced around from Houston to Denver to Cleveland to the Clippers before finally landing in New York.
Each previous stop left Hartenstein wanting more – more minutes, a bigger role, a better opportunity to show what he could do.
That led him to sign with the Knicks and coach Tom Thibodeau, not knowing exactly what his role would shape up to be.
Adapting to a New Role
Hartenstein initially struggled to adapt to Thibodeau‘s system and carve out a spot for himself.
He battled through Achilles soreness and seemed uneasy at times with the more limited offensive role Thibodeau wanted him to play.
“Coming in, it took us some time to adjust,” – Hartenstein admitted.
But displaying the mental toughness and maturity gained over his basketball journey, Hartenstein kept working and stuck with it. He focused on improving the defensive deficiencies that he knew were holding him back from getting on the court.
“What I did is, in the summer, I would really watch a lot of Draymond [Green],” Hartenstein said. “I worked on defense…because that’s what was keeping me off the court.”
The Perfect Fit on Both Ends
Beyond stepping up as a shot-blocking and rebounding force on defense, Hartenstein has complemented the Knicks perfectly on the offensive end as well.
With his high basketball IQ and underrated passing skills, Hartenstein has served as an offensive hub at times. He can facilitate offense from the high post and elbow, creating open shots with his vision and passing.
Keeping the Offense Flowing
The Knicks lost additional shot creation when Julius Randle dislocated his shoulder a few weeks ago. Hartenstein helped keep the offense afloat by flashing his playmaking chops.
“I don’t think there’s a lot of bigs that know how to play in that pocket like I do, know how to pass out of the pocket, make those reads,”
Coach Thibodeau has increasingly leaned on Hartenstein‘s versatility, playing through “Delay” sets with Hartenstein facilitating offense from the top of the key early in possessions before flowing into pick-and-rolls or other actions.
His chemistry with cutters like Jalen Brunson and Donte DiVincenzo has energized the offense and led to easy buckets during a time when scoring was at a premium.
The Perfect Teammate
Beyond his obvious production, Hartenstein‘s teammates praise him for all the little things he does at a high level – hard screens, communicating on defense, keeping the ball moving, and more. This makes him an easy player for the team to rally around.
“I describe him as a comfort blanket for us,” said Donte DiVincenzo.
“If you cut, you know he’s going to make the pass. If you want a screen, you know he’s going to set a hard screen.”
For a Knicks team that values unselfishness and toughness, Hartenstein perfectly embodies their team-first culture and hard working mentality.
“He does everything and more,” DiVincenzo said.
Built for Playoff Basketball
As the Knicks gear up for what they hope is a deep playoff run, they’ll need major contributions from Hartenstein if they want to make noise against elite teams.
Luckily for New York, Hartenstein‘s game seems tailor-made for the intensity and physicality of playoff basketball.
“Having the medical staff and Thibs really care about my health, I think that’s been big,” Hartenstein said about keeping him fresh for the playoffs.
“Knowing myself, I would always kind of push it.”
The Ideal Playoff Big Man
Teams typically shorten their rotations come playoff time, so having versatile contributors like Hartenstein becomes even more crucial.
His ability to protect the rim on defense, battle for rebounds, run the floor, facilitate offense, and finish plays around the basket makes him an invaluable chess piece against the league’s best teams when the game slows down.
Donte DiVincenzo summed up Hartenstein‘s importance nicely: “Now you get reinforcements back with Mitch coming back. Now you have to deal with it for 48 minutes.”
Good luck dealing with a fresh and ferocious Mitch Robinson for 24 minutes…and then Isaiah Hartenstein steps in for another 24 minutes as the perfect small-ball center. That spells doom for opposing frontcourts come playoff time.
Sources:
www.cbssports.com/nba/news/isaiah-hartenstein-is-everything-knicks-need-and-more-how-nikola-jokics-former-backup-became-indispensable/
www.si.com/nba/knicks/news/new-york-knicks-isaiah-hartenstein-more-minutes-center-mitchell-robinson-injury
sports.yahoo.com/isaiah-hartenstein-showing-knicks-thrive-044701551.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAANn6P4ZOOByjfG9i4L9XWea8etxzoIt0-jmq0Hlwlmmjdv5qxzreDFhve0oz42Vzt_ZAzmteKdhTiiFjgNhENh-1CHSwxaKSAlVBgAwCQtRWsLJ06FwVMrxxelXbPYoOdVkfR0aX8j9OSx0gCmsxKX1zbV3UtYF-JwhYcEFYw8On
