That’s probably what they call a “blowout” in America. The Golden State Warriors could have skipped the trip to New York, this time they were simply chased off the floor in Madison Square Garden. From their point of view, it was 94:132 against the local Knicks – a result like a 1:6 and 0:6 in tennis. As is well known, the NBA is about basketball and not about yellow felt balls.
In other times, they reverently called the Knicks Hall “Mecca of Basketball” because the game received an early imprint here in the Big Apple because New Yorkers embrace the sport with the same devotion from the city’s streetball courts to Manhattan. Basketball as hard work, like back in the seventies with Walt Frazier or later with Patrick Ewing and iron dudes like Charles Oakley and John Starks, they still draw on this story today. Some things have changed for a long time – for example the number of points.
132 points in a game, the first home win against series champions Golden State since 2013. Even though the Warriors had started without Stephen Curry and other greats, it sounded more like “Showtime” from the LA Lakers brand than drudgery. And indeed: The Knicks are currently experiencing an upswing that has even the most cynical New Yorkers twitching with enthusiasm. With eight successes in a row, coach Tom Thibodeau’s team is the hottest number in the league.
The Knicks have now won eight straight games in the NBA
And already the numerous bankruptcies at the start of the season, the rumblings about the coach’s personnel changes and the indifference about years of mediocrity in the 2010s are forgotten. The Knicks engine is running, the playoffs are in sight, that has only happened once in the past nine seasons. But when it comes to weasel-driver Jalen Brunson, understatement is the order of the day.
“Nobody is talking about our run here,” he said, “but of course we tell ourselves that we should continue like this.” Keep going, the motto of tirelessness fits in New York, where the fans can be gotten out of the fundamental building blocks with sporting zeal and basketball. Players like Brunson, center Mitchell Robinson, Julius Randle and RJ Barrett have now internalized the concept of defensive guru Thibodeau – and one building block is Isaiah Hartenstein, 24, a tall guy with roots in Quakenbrück.
The German, who was born in Oregon and grew up in Eugene in the Lower Saxony prairie after his childhood, is one of the role players in the Knickerbockers system. His part consists of cleaning up under the ring, fishing rebounds and stopping invaders on defense. On average, he generates six points and seven rebounds with his team-friendly style of play – no glittering values, but solid craftsmanship.
Coach Thibodeau recently explained how much he appreciates the center as a defensive anchor for his “work on the boards”. In fact, Hartenstein is considered one of the most capable offensive rebounders in the NBA – at 2.13 meters tall, he throws not only into the fray when the opponent misses, but also with delight when his own team rebounds.
However, he lost one ability after arriving from the LA Clippers at the beginning of the season: Since Hartenstein played a lot with the ball in his hand on the wing in his youth, he can play precise passes. In New York, others form the creative center, Hartenstein should rather give the classic breaker in the middle when he comes from the bench onto the field. A change for him. “I have to get used to that,” he explained recently, “everything is a little different than the way I’ve played in recent years.” Make more blocks, less dribble, “but in the end I do what helps us as a team”.
Isaiah Hartenstein and teammate Jalen Brunson: The point guard came from the Dallas Mavericks preseason and is now the leader of the Knicks.
(Foto: Michael Reaves/Getty Images via AFP)
Hartenstein’s contract guarantees him a whopping $16 million over the next two years, so he’s met with some expectations in New York. In his sixth NBA year, he finally wants to stay longer with a club and not be shipped again at short notice, as has happened several times. The fact that he was only “80 percent” fit, as he said, due to an Achilles tendon injury in the fall, made the integration process with the Knicks even more difficult. So there are rumors about Hartenstein changing again, because several types of players like him are fighting for playing time in the squad.
“We have several people who can tear down a monster game at any time,” said colleague Brunson after the Warriors’ beating: “It’s not surprising to me when someone else always steps into the breach.” The balance and shared commitment to countering defensively makes the Knicks dangerous. Your series is based on the contributions of many protagonists, each in their own discipline. Isaiah Hartenstein also gives something to the team – and it actually fits quite well that he is just getting to know winning in the city of hard workers. And the myth of basketball made in New York.
