Isaiah Hartenstein is one of the key players in the excellent regular season of the New York Knicks, currently fourth in the Eastern Conference with 44 wins in 73 games.
The team has played much of the regular season without the starting big man duo (Julius Randle played 46 games, Mitchell Robinson just 23, OG Anunoby played 17 times after his arrival from the Raptors).
The 25-year-old big man in his second year in the Big Apple has become a mainstay of Coach Thibodeau’s team:
The table shows the league’s best ‘four-man lineup’ with at least 100 minutes together on the floor, with Hartenstein and Brunson in the Knicks’ 3 groups literally dominating opponents.
In a recent interview with CBS Sports, Hartenstein talked about his two-year stint in New York.
“Coming in, it took us some time to adjust,” Hartenstein said. “But I think, unless you’re really the top guy on any team, you’re going to have to adjust to a certain role. You’re not going to be able to do everything you want. So, I mean, if you want to be a winning player, you have to be able to do it. Now I’m in a perfect situation, where I’m allowed to play my game, and it’s been working really well.”
The 25-year-old big man is producing 7.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 blocks in 24 minutes per game.
“Now I showed that I can still score, I can still pass, but at the end of the day, whatever the team needs, I’m able to adjust,” Hartenstein said. “And I think that’s what a lot of players in the league can’t do. That’s why some of them kind of fall out of the league, ’cause they’re not able to adjust to what the team needs at that time.”
Hartenstein will become a free agent at the end of the season and will most likely sign the best contract of his career.
“I think I’ve proven that, no matter what big comes in, it’s a matchup,” Hartenstein said. “I don’t think, any big that ever comes in, I’m scared of or anything. I think I’ve established that I’m a starter in the NBA. I can play a big role on a winning team.”
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