Isaiah Hartenstein, New York Knicks (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
2. Isaiah Hartenstein is a willing passer
Another Achilles heel for the Knicks in recent years has been lack of spreading the ball. Although not a guy who will stand out in the assist box scores, Hartenstein is a sneaky good passing big man. Managing four or more assists in 18 games last season, it doesn’t sound like a lot, but these numbers add up in a quiet way. His career high for assists in a game is eight, which he achieved last season.
For context, let’s take a look at Mitchell Robinsons assists (or lack-thereof) numbers last season. In the 72 games he played, he had four assists just once (season high), and three or more just twice. There were 46 games where Robinson had zero assists. It’s not like he wasn’t playing either — he was the starting center.
Robinson played 1,848 minutes last season, totaling 38 assists. Hartenstein played 1,216 (632 less) than Robinson and finished with 160 total assists.
Again, it is important in a system that has had troubling finding the open man to work on improving that. One big man has showed the capabilities of being able to produce assists, the other has not.
Circling back on the per 36 from last season, the models would have liked Hartenstein to finish with 4.7 assists per game. Per 100 saw his assists numbers all the way up to 6.4.
Hartenstein’s passing ability could turn into a key for a Knicks offense that needs to find a way to score more points while also spreading the ball effectively.
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<p>— Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/10/24/3-reasons-isaiah-hartenstein-new-york-knicks-starter-candidate/2/"https://twitter.com/NekiasNBA/status/1574925988219133952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>September 28, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>Hartenstein’s passing ability could turn into a key for a Knicks offense that needs to find a way to score more points while also spreading the ball effectively.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/10/24/3-reasons-isaiah-hartenstein-new-york-knicks-starter-candidate/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> 3. Hartenstein offers resistance on the other end </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-134757 size-full" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/10/24/3-reasons-isaiah-hartenstein-new-york-knicks-starter-candidate/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_996,w_1600/https%3A%2F%2Fdailyknicks.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1432997271.jpeg" alt="Isaiah Hartenstein, New York Knicks" width="1600" height="996" srcset="https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1432997271.jpeg 1600w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1432997271-420x260.jpeg 420w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1432997271-768x478.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">Isaiah Hartenstein, New York Knicks (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>3. Hartenstein protects the paint</h2>
<p>Standing at seven-feet, Isaiah Hartenstein doesn’t get the defensive recognition he should. Not a big rebounder (five per game last season), that is one area that should certainly improve this season. If he can see more consistent minutes in the mid 20’s-low 30’s, those rebounding numbers could look a lot different at season’s end.</p>
<p>Although Mitchell Robinson is a much more dominant defender and established rebounder than Hartenstein right now, the Knicks should allow Isaiah room to grow and learn how to better position himself defensively.</p>
<p>He can turn the tide on the low rebounding numbers, but even if he doesn’t, he can look at one former Nets big man that showed everyone rebounding isn’t the only key to a big man being effective on defense.</p>
<p>Low rebounding numbers for big man doesn’t always mean they are a defensive liability. Thinking back to a player like Brook Lopez, the rebounding numbers were never what peopled hoped for, but he still found ways to be affective on the defensive end. Lopez earned an All-NBA Defensive Second Team honors in 2019-20 after blocking 2.4 shots per game while only pulling down 4.6 rebounds per game.</p>
<p>The part of Hartenstein’s game that doesn’t get talked about enough is his shot-blocking abilities. In the 18 minutes per game he saw last season, he managed 1.1 blocks per game. He also blocked at least one shot in 46 of 68 games. He has recorded one block in each of the first two games this season.</p>
<p>Hartenstein plays with a lot of effort on the defensive end, and hopefully, will get more of an opportunity to showcase that part of his game this season.</p>
<p>The Knicks organization and fans should be encouraged by what they have seen from their under-the-radar free agent signing to start the season.</p>
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