Isaiah Hartenstein
New York Knicks

Player Facts

Height: 7'0"
Weight: 250lbs.

Wingspan: 7'2.25"

Date of Birth: May 5, 1998
College Experience: N/A

Selections

All Star: 0
All-NBA: 0
All-Defensive: 0

Player Grades

Speed/Explosiveness: 7
Physical Strength: 10
Positional Size: 10
Positional Wingspan: 9
Paint Scoring: 7
Midrange Scoring: 2
Three-Point Scoring: 1
Dribbling: 4
Passing: 5
Perimeter Defense: 5
Interior Defense: 9
Rebounding: 8

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> Intro

> Paint Scoring

> Push Shots + O-Boards

> High Post/Elbow Facilitation

> Premium Paint Protector

> Cramped Spacer

> Throw-Aways

> Defensive Quibbles

> Beacon Bacon

>Link to Player Contract & Salary Info

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*All statistical data courtesy of NBA Advanced Stats

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STRENGTHS

Intro

Isaiah Hartenstein is a true seven-footer who brings a handful of distinct offerings to the hardwood. Offensive rebounding and staunch rim protection are two of these areas. The southpaw center mixes in some high-post facilitation and push-shot-making as well.

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Paint Scoring

Hartenstein's scoring comes in one of a couple ways. Cutting is one of these ways. Back in LA (2021-2022), he scored in the 75th percentile for his bucket-getting off cuts. Players like Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Norman Powell made Isaiah's play-finishing job easy. Penetrators like Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart now play that role.

Isaiah looks to finish with force when possible. He leans towards the latter on the finesse-power finishing style continuum. Phenomenal size, good bounce, and plus-length help his cause here.

Screening-and-diving is another way that the lefty pivot can score. He gets out of the screen and will roll forcefully to the rim. As will be discussed later, he also has nice vision here on both soft and hard rolls to complement his scoring.

Push Shots + O-Boards

Another tool in his toolbox, often witnessed on these rolls, is his push shot. This floater/hook hybrid plants something in the defenders' heads so that they can't sell out for the layup/dunk or the pass. 2022-2023 saw him hit a very formidable clip on these non-restricted area paint shots.

2021-2022 had Hartenstein in the 75th percentile as a ball screen diver. He converted a healthy 64.6% of his attempts in these actions. His 1.26 points per play figure edged those of Joel Embiid, Deandre Ayton, and Anthony Davis.

A better offensive rebounder than defensive one, Isaiah generates some opportunities for himself by aggressively attacking the boards. His 1.5 putback points a night (in his sub-20 MPG) put him just ahead of Nikola Vucevic and Karl-Anthony Towns (2022-2023). Also, he will also change ends with ample effort.

High Post/Elbow Facilitation

Hartenstein adds some unique offensive value for his archetype. He can be a hub at the top of the arc, standing out in contrast to starting center Ivica Zubac on the Knicks. He is a smooth DHO man who dribbles into the next action when the first fizzles out.

Isaiah has improved his ability to put the ball on the deck in a straight line. This serves as a counter when defenders are paying him no mind out on the perimeter. The "keeper" move out of the would-be DHO is something he can do.

His role changes year-to-year, but he's had some big ones in terms of dimes per-36. 4.7 was that figure in 2021-2022. The Ohio native can also find some backdoor cutters with impressive reads.

Premium Paint Protector

Isaiah is an all-around marvelous, and criminally underrated, rim protector. His block totals and averages tend to be understated as he does not always get a ton of minutes due to other limitations. Thankfully, we have statistics like block percentage (top-20 in 2022-2023), swats per-36, and opposing FG% to paint a fuller, more accurate picture.

Going through those above metrics, he posted a block percentage that placed him in the top-20 of the NBA in 2022-2023. Both 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 saw him clear 2.2 denials on a per-36 minute basis. Finally, his FG% <6 feet against in 2021-2022 was a huge -10.3%.

WEAKNESSES

Cramped Spacer

Hartenstein stays within himself, so his weaknesses do not have a hugely tangible impact on his squad. Still, there are some that are more problematic than others.

He has no reliable jumper to speak on from either two-point land or from deep. Therefore, he cannot serve as a pick-and-pop big to show the defense something different. He also lacks much of a post game.

Throw-Aways

For all of his value-adding passing from the elbows, he can get overly audacious with these. These lead to throw-aways that can be costly live-ball turnovers. There is not as much breathing room between his assists averages and his turnover ones as one would like.

Defensive Quibbles

Defensively, he can get exposed out in space as many large, heavy centers do. He is pretty athletic and tries hard – but that high center of mass is hard to overcome. This keeps him stuck in an up-to-touch or drop style of pick-and-roll defense.

Hartenstein fouls quite a lot. His elite rim protection comes at a cost – one that his team consistently has to fork over. After averaging a comedic 9.1 fouls per-36 his rookie year, it remains relatively high at 4.5-6 annually.

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Beacon Bacon

Hartenstein pierced the top-15 for blocks per game in 2021-2022 despite averaging a meager 17.9 minutes a night