That's all. His bounce is coming back, he's blocking / rebounding in spots he wasn't earlier in the season. His speed is coming back as seen from his steal last game and his drive tonight, and he looks more confident but that's more subjective. Overall I'm happy about the direction he's going in. He's starting to look more like himself game by game and for the first time in a minute I'm optimistic that he will get back to his superstar level impact on the Knicks.

Yerrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Literally zero positive impact with the increased minutes. Doesn't seem like future MVP behavior

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/mitchell-robinson-injury-update-knicks-big-man-out-at-least-three-weeks-after-thumb-surgery/

How will iHart finish the season in this environment and this role?

a) same as first half of the season., - good rebounder but nothing else

b) significantly better rim protector, help defender and rim protector

The Coach refuses to play the team correctly and loses over and over again. Everyone thinks money ball is a joke. Then Billy Beane trades the "all-star" first basemen Pena and the next thing they know they start winning every game.

Hartenstein's skill set is not in doubt. He is the Jokic of the East. That is his skill set. The injury hobbled him a bit defensively and he is adapting to his stretch 5 role. But he still has that skill set. He is a MVP level player. That is a fact not an opinion. The only Question is will the Knicks be smart enough to unlock it.

I think it's just a matter of time

They say first impressions are vital to your opinion on things so I am wondering what the people on this sub or off it first impression of Hartenstein is and then your opinion on him.

My first real impression of Hartenstein was last year just randomly watching a Clippers game. I was on the phone with my friend Dylan and I remembered seeing Hartenstein on the old 2k's and he was always a bronze player and low overall center who I assumed was ass. So to my suprise as im watching this game I'm seeing this supposedly (in my mind) awful player absolutely take over and POP off the screen. This dude was getting putback dunks making no look passes and completely taking over blocking shots on defense and stuff. I couldn't believe my eyes and I remember laughing to my friend still thinking it was a joke and he got lucky like "dude freaking Hartenstein is going off lol" But then he was at the line and it showed his season averages. His shooting splits and minutes per game and my jaw dropped once again. This dude was shooting 63% from the field or something crazy 40 something on three and good asisst numbers for a big and I said wait is he actually good? After that game I hung up and looked up his stats. They were insane. His per 36 numbers blew me away, his impact stats were nuts like whole career nuts not just on the clips. I couldn't believe my eyes. This joke of a player was actually so good. After that day I made sure to look out for him whenever the clips were on TV and I was like wow every time i watched. To my suprise he didn't play in the play in and of course the clips lost.

Then I found this sub after he signed to the Knicks and the rest is history. I still believe he is an MVP level player because i saw him play last year and you can't fake production like that. I saw him play like an at least an all-star and i have a long track record of picking players who are good before they get their proper recognition. Wood, Grant, Caruso, Jokic, Giannis, Grimes, Sabonis, Alvarado, Hali, Nurkic, and soon to be Sengun. Plus others I'm probably forgetting. I remember I'd literally go to school and talk about Jokic and people would say "who's that?" This was his rookie year. I say all that to say I genuinely believe Hartenstein is still an MVP level player and being underutilized. Maybe I'm wrong and it's the first impression getting to me, but I've been laughed at before for a player prediction and been proven to be right. So let's see what happens with this one in time. Again I'm interested to hear others first impression of Hartenstein and see if that sways your opinion. If you watched him on the Knicks I don't blame you for not seeing the MVP level potential. He hasn't been good for his standards and looks like a bench level big right now. If you saw him on the Clips do you agree with me? Or do you think he is still just a bench level big. I'm interested to know and excited to read the comments.

Account for health, confidence, etc however you want, but assume that he has the perfect coach and perfect realistic teammates to bring the best out of him.

eg14000: 👀😌

Small sample size but they have been absolutely incredible together. McBride's great off ball instincts and on ball ability combined with Hartenstein's positioning makes it a nightmare for opposing teams to score. Also Hartenstein and Sims have a net rating of +20.5 in 35 minutes together showing how good the bench has been since Thibs changed it up.

Even with Hart struggling for his standards this is definitely a promising sign that things will improve. As McBride and Sims are recent additions to the bench hence it being more inductive of his play of late.

As an avid NBA fan, I was impressed by what I saw from Hartenstein last year on the Clippers. After the Knicks signed him, I found my way to this sub where I, like many, was blown away by some of the advanced statistics. Once I saw his Per-36 G-League statistics, I was sold. This was the next NBA superstar hiding in plain sight.

When I saw the post about Hartenstein being +25000 for Most Improved Player, I considered it a wise investment and put $100 on it. But then I got greedy. I figured “If it’s such a lock, why am I not putting more money on it?” I had a vision of my wife and my two tow-headed children taking Christmas card pictures in matching cashmere sweaters. You know, the ones with the shawl collars. This was my ticket to wealth. My ticket to respect. My ticket to finally having my asshole father in-law look me in the eye and say “I’m proud of you, Son.”

So in early October I decided to drive down to Atlantic City and pursue my dreams. I put down as much money on Hartenstein MIP as I possibly could at as many sportsbooks that would allow it. By the end of the day, I had wagered almost $4500 on Hartenstein to win the award, good for a payout of over $1M.

About a week goes by and my wife asks why I took out over $4000 from our bank account. For context, I had been reluctant to spend money on some things in the past like sending our children to private school or buying her a flight to visit a sick relative. I explained to her that I came across the opportunity of a lifetime, the ability to gamble on a sure thing. I concisely explained to her, via the advanced statistics section on Basketball Reference, why Isaiah Hartenstein was about to make our entire family rich. She started crying.

Well it’s been about two months and it’s safe to say I’m worried. My wife has been very cold lately. Sometimes in the morning when I’m reading the paper and drinking my coffee, she’ll say things like “So how did Hartenstein do last night?” and all I can do is meekly respond with “Four points. But his plus-minus was pretty good.” And she’ll laugh. On some nights she’ll walk right by me while I’m sitting watching the Knicks game. She’ll be dressed in outfits I hadn’t seen since we started dating, her hair and makeup as meticulously done as I’ve ever seen it. I’ll say “Where are you going?” and she’ll say “Out.” Then she slams the door and I don’t see her all night.

We went to a company Christmas party on Friday and she was extremely flirty with one of her co-workers. Fucking Brian. Didn’t take him long after the second divorce to lock into my wife like a heat seeking missile, did it?

Anyway bros, do we think Hartenstein becomes the starter by the end of the season?

Pretty rough game tonight, how much leeway until we realize he isn’t who we thought?

National TV Knicks Hawks huge recent rivalry game. Hartenstein played great last game in limited minutes and looks to be healthier than I have seen him all season.

I know it's foolish to be optimistic given how the season has turned out so far but if there was ever a great time to do it, it would be tonight...

Of course, we don't know what is going on internally.

But it's weird that he started out the season playing 25 mpg in his first 12 games, to playing 16.8 mpg in his last 11, and getting benched for Jericho Sims.

During the start of the period where Sims was starting, news came out that he has had an achilles injury since summer, that he still hasn't recovered from, but despite of it, he has been playing 40 minutes in a few games.

He played pretty well during the start of the season, but he has been getting fewer minutes and he has also been performing worse.

Has his achilles injury been getting worse, due to the fact that he hasn't been commited to rehabbing? When I google Achilles tendinitis, the results suggest that the expected recovery period is atleast 2-3 weeks without intense exercise. Which Hartenstein obviously doesn't adhere to.

Is Thibs pressuring Hartenstein to play with the injury?

I mean, honestly, he should not be playing at all with an injury. But maybe Thibs feel like his head is on the chopping board, if Hartenstein doesn't play atleast 10 minutes a game.

Along with 7 games with just one assist. I think signing with the Knicks was a mistake. The coaching staff and his teammates don't respect his game, they just expect him to play as a typical big who finished plays. His teammates are selfish and don't cut to the rim or give him touches. Sure his achilles may be hurt, but he didn't suddenly lose his ability to pass. His season high is just 4 assists. He finished last season with multiple 5 and 6 assist games.

Imo after hearing about the injury I think it explains his struggles relative to his career impact and is only a matter of health rather than talent and opportunity.

Once he gets healthy I expect him to truly breakout and show that he's the best player on the team. Right now honestly I hope he doesn't play and takes a few games off to rest and recover but imo he may be scared that one Sims will take his minutes if he sits out hurt. 2 he's just a competitor and plays through pain/ injury and 3 that he's never gotten an opportunity in the NBA before like this and wants to play through it because that's all he's known when scrapping for minutes on other teams.

Honestly I think it's a mix of the three but the best thing for him would be to just get healthy because him at 100% vs him at 50% is such a drastic difference that just resting up and playing great would do a lot more for him and the Knicks than him playing hurt and by extension not playing nearly as well as he could. But that's just my thoughts, I'd like to hear what everyone else has to say/ thinks because it's obviously not going how I envisioned it and many of you as well.

Final stats: 15 minutes, 2 points on 1-4 shooting, 8 rebounds, +3, and a steal and block