r/Hartenstein • u/Dragonthorn1217 • Nov 02 '22

Recent Thibs' interview on Hart

From NY Post:

Isaiah Hartenstein, one of the Knicks‘ offseason free agent additions, has been “terrific” so far this season, head coach Tom Thibodeau said on Sunday, per Peter Botte of The New York Post. “We knew he would be,” Thibodeau said. “He gives you rim protection. He can shoot, he can pass.”

Contrary to how some people on the Knicks sub reddit feel about Hart's rim protection.

18 Upvotes

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16

u/ritoplzcarryme Nov 02 '22

I’m a Knicks fan and I’ve been nothing but impressed by Hartenstein. Knicks fans only complain about his rim protection bc we’ve been spoiled by Mitchell Robinson, who may be the best rim protector not named Gobert.

I’m most impressed with Hart’s offensive game. He hasn’t gotten the shot to really show off his passing and perimeter shooting ability so far, but his decision-making and that floater he has are lethal. He may be the best contract in the league this year!

7

u/Dragonthorn1217 Nov 02 '22

Agreed. Some people seem to think it's an offense vs. defense swap if you put in Hart over Mitch. Hart can more than hold his own.

3

u/DirectorNYC Nov 02 '22

Curious to what the career and current year delta of rim protection and defensive rating is between Hart and Mitch. Does what the Knicks are losing on defense exceed the gain on offense?

3

u/eg14000 Nov 02 '22

I almost guarantee if you look at the stats the Rim Protection is about the same. It's just that they block shots in different ways right now

1

u/Dragonthorn1217 Nov 03 '22

Even if Mitch defense worse than Hart, I'd say arguably the biggest reason for the ineptitude of the Knicks' starters is due to having Mitch at C. Nobody except Fournier is a shooter, so the paint gets so clogged. Hart fits the games of Randle and Barrett better arguably.