Once Isaiah Hartenstein determined success with the Knicks was impossible the way he played, the 7-foot German-American center got blunt with the image in the mirror.
“I was in a situation where I played one way, but I looked at myself and was like, ‘You’re not playing good — be honest with yourself, it’s not working,’” Hartenstein told Post Sports+. “And then it was: How can I change it to help the team and how am I going to stay on the court?”
This revelation came to him last season, Hartenstein’s first with the Knicks. He was dealing with Achilles pain as well as the realization that the style of basketball he knew — along with the skills he had spent a lifetime developing — were largely frivolous for a center in Tom Thibodeau’s system.
The Knicks wanted a bruiser at that position. A screener. A rebounder. Similar to Mitchell Robinson.
Hartenstein arrived with a proven finesse game after a strong season with the Clippers, with playmaking skills he learned in the European system and, later, as an understudy to Nikola Jokic in Denver.
But Thibodeau’s vision of Hartenstein’s role didn’t jibe with his own. So the player adjusted.
“I think that’s a thing a lot of NBA players don’t do. That’s kind of how you whittle down the league,” Hartenstein said. “And for me, that was adjusting it to less of a finesse game and more of getting guys open [with screens], more of just crashing for the rebounds. Whereas before it was more passing, catching it in the pocket, playing off that.”
Hartenstein couldn’t be blamed if he didn’t embrace that change. He was signed for $16 million to be the player from the Clippers, touted even by team president Leon Rose as a versatile alternative to Robinson, rather than a copy.
And let’s be honest: the dirty work of Thibodeau’s traditional center is typically neither as fun, as celebrated or as monetarily rewarding as playmaking.
“He gives us something a little different than Jericho [Sims] and Mitchell in that he can step out and shoot the ball,” Rose said after signing Hartenstein in 2022. “He’s a little bit more of a stretch big. And he’s very skillful as far as passing the ball.”
Thibodeau even endorsed a comparison between Hartenstein and Joakim Noah, who, in 2014, received MVP votes because the Bulls’ offense ran through the center.
“That is a very good comp,” Thibodeau said before last season. “Their games are different, but their vision, unselfishness — that’s special. It’s a gift.”
It never worked out like that, however. Hartenstein had that nagging sore Achilles, sapping his athleticism. The Knicks struggled at the start of last season, including on the glass, which is non-negotiable in Thibodeau’s system.
By November, Sims was threatening to leapfrog Hartenstein in the rotation.
So Hartenstein’s survival instincts kicked in. He committed himself to the role of garbage man. His assists were cut in half from the previous campaign with the Clippers (2.4 to 1.2). His 3-point shot deteriorated (46.7% to 21.6%). His usage rate (17.7 to 12.4) and seconds per touch (2.06 to 1.41) and dribbles per touch (0.69 to 0.28) plummeted.
And the Knicks were winning.
“Yeah, it was a little different, but actually looking back, I appreciate it,” Hartenstein said. “I feel like now I can play in different spots. So it was rough a little bit in the beginning, but I feel like now I’m in a good spot where I can kind of adjust more to what the team needs, playing more like Mitch, and every now and then, I might be able to flash a little pass.”
Hartenstein smiled.
“Every now and then.”
The turning point, Hartenstein said, was a victory in Cleveland on Jan. 24, when he secured a game-saving block at the rim on Donovan Mitchell.
From that point, the Knicks won 22 of their next 32 as Hartenstein’s net rating skyrocketed in February and March.
The new approach naturally carried over into this season with Hartenstein again focused offensively on setting screens and crashing the glass. The stats aren’t impressive, but that’s kind of the point.
Thibodeau, perhaps understanding the thankless nature of the jobs tasked to his centers, has gone out of his way to applaud the contributions of Hartenstein and Robinson in what feels like every media availability.
And despite averages — 5.7 points and 4.9 rebounds per game this season — that would normally prompt you to dismiss the player, Hartenstein is now fully in the conversation for the NBA’s best backup center.
“I feel like I am,” Hartenstein said. “I feel like it’s between me, [Minnesota’s] Naz Reid and probably [Atlanta’s] Onyeka Okongwu, probably us three.
“I feel like I bring a lot to the game, even when it doesn’t show in the stats. I think the [victory over the Heat on Friday] really showed it. I don’t think my stats were great, but I feel like I can impact the game without scoring. I feel like definitely one of the [best] backup bigs in the NBA.”
That’s a good title to own in a contract year. But Hartenstein also wanted to remind us he hasn’t lost his playmaking skills. They’ve just been placed in storage.
“I feel like whatever happens in the future, I can play both ways,” he said.
And what about free agency after this season?
“We’ll see what happens,” he said. “I love New York, so we’ll see what happens.”
The old-school soul in me wanted to dislike the In-Season Tournament, even though, as the grandson of a sporting Czechoslovakian, I grew up appreciating round-robins and random championship “Cups” in the middle of European soccer seasons with varying degrees of prestige.
I thought Adam Silver’s creation was a bit too audacious, and justified my take as such: Though the media and players probably would be forced to care, the fans had no incentive to and wouldn’t. Just like they no longer care about division titles or NBA games in China or the winner of the All-Star game, regardless of how many gimmicks Silver throws at his big February weekend.
But the In-Season Tournament has been a pleasant surprise.
Most everything about it is … cool. The courts aren’t as obnoxious as I feared, particularly the one at MSG, which was neither bright enough to assault the senses nor dark enough to blend in with the color of the ball. Most importantly, the NBA gave greater meaning to games that otherwise would be dismissed as early-season snoozers. And it’s worked. At least so far.
Perhaps later we’ll hear gripes about how it ruined teams like the Knicks, who now have to play five games this season against the powerhouse Bucks. And if the Knicks somehow win in Milwaukee next week and advance to the In-Season Tournament final, their December schedule would become insanely road-heavy.
But for now, the hype has me believing that winning the tournament is worth the trouble.
With that being said, there’s a way to make it better, and here’s my easy proposal: Get rid of the wild cards.
Point differential as a secondary tiebreaker isn’t avoidable (unless you want to do just points scored or allowed), but the NBA should try to limit its impact — especially when, in the case of the wild cards, it’s based on point differential against opponents from different groups. For instance, the Knicks had a distinct advantage because they got to obliterate the Wizards and Hornets while the Celtics only got to run up the score on the terrible Bulls.
Few people could understand what the heck was going on Tuesday, the final day of group play, largely because of the different machinations involving the wild cards. Even reporters covering the Knicks needed a step-by-step guide on how the team might earn a spot or how it might not have enough points to clear the Celtics from a different group.
There was also an incident in Boston, where the coaches of the Celtics and Bulls were beefing over a hack-a-Drummond strategy in the final minutes of a blowout. On some level, I understand the attraction for fans. It’s like gambling on a point spread, keeping the fans engaged even when the outcome has been decided.
But it felt forced and cringey, more like Silver’s failed All-Star gimmicks.
So how do you get rid of the wild cards? Simple. The two teams that advance to the In-Season Tournament finals get an automatic bid into the next year’s quarterfinals. So there’s further incentive to win (there’s precedent for this because the winner of the FIFA World Cup gets an automatic bid to the next tournament). And because there are six groups, you just trash the wild cards and give the other quarterfinal spots to the winners of each group (if the team with the bye wins the group, the knockout berth goes to the team that finished second).
You’re welcome.
Want to catch a game? The Knicks schedule with links to buy tickets can be found here.
Trade season doesn’t start for another two weeks, when players signed in free agency are eligible to be dealt. But it’s not too early to identify which teams might be sellers and targets the Knicks might identify in a swap for Evan Fournier, whose presence on the roster appears to only be as a trade asset.
I’m assuming, as of now, that the type of superstar the Knicks covet won’t become available until after the season, at the earliest.
Maybe the Clippers or Pelicans fall so far down that they try to unload Paul George or Zion Williamson. Probably not.
Either way, Leon Rose has to use Fournier’s $19 million expiring contract in a deal before the February deadline, or else it becomes a wasted asset and you wonder why the Knicks kept the Frenchman at the end of the bench for months.
So here’s a Lucky 13 list of third-tier players whom I could see becoming available, just because their teams are underwhelming or they don’t fit into the timeline. Keep in mind that the Knicks acquired a third-tier player last season at the deadline (Josh Hart), and it boosted them into the playoffs:
Buddy Hield (Pacers) … Precious Achiuwa (Raptors) … Alex Caruso (Bulls) … Jordan Clarkson (Jazz) … Alec Burks (Pistons) … Bojan Bogdanovic (Pistons) … Jonathan Kuminga (Warriors) … Trey Lyles (Kings) … Tyus Jones (Wizards) … Lonnie Walker IV (Nets) … Malcolm Brogdon (Trail Blazers) … Clint Capela (Hawks) … Doug McDermott (Spurs).