Isaiah Hartenstein has carved out a valuable place in the rotation.
Hartenstein had an impact on the defensive end and on the glass: in the two games in which he failed to score, he rebounded in double digits and in Saturday’s 116-110 win over Denver he finished with nine rebounds and six points .
“I think he’s just doing whatever the team needs,” Hartenstein said on Friday. “I think you look at everyone in the NBA, everyone was a top scorer on a team at one time in their life. I think I saw a podcast with Paul George, Patrick Beverley had an average of 40 in high school. So it’s like, ultimately, we’re all NBA players but you have to find your niche. Find everything the team needs at that point.”
Hartenstein’s niche with the Knicks, which can count on the scoring of Julius Randle, Jalen Brunson and RJ Barrett, is to make himself valuable in less obvious ways and he is succeeding.