Isaiah Hartenstein

Hartenstein has been a per-minute stud throughout his career, but that didn't carry over into last season. The big man averaged 5.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.8 blocks on 53.5 percent shooting across nearly 20 minutes a night. Most of those numbers are fantastic for a 20-minute player, but scoring just five points per game is unusual from such a talented big man. The reduced efficiency is the primary reason for the fall off, with Hartenstein shooting 61 percent in the three previous years. He also had plenty of chances to take on a bigger workload when Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson were sidelined, but his averages weren't any different in his eight games as a starter. The big man fills every stat that you want to see in fantasy basketball, but it really doesn't matter in a role like this. Being stuck behind minute hounds like Randle and Robinson is rough for Hartenstein's fantasy value, especially since Jericho Sims and Isaiah Roby are also in the picture. It would take a ton of injuries for Hartenstein to become a fantasy-relevant option, but he's always a sneaky stream or DFS target whenever one of those big men has to sit.

Despite playing just 17.9 minutes per game with the Clippers last season, Hartenstein was a fringe standard league option at center - a position of scarcity. His numbers excellently translate to fantasy, and he ranked 148th in per-game production behind 8.3 points on 62.6 percent shooting, 4.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.8 combined blocks-plus-steals. The 24-year-old big man also shot an acceptable 68.9 percent from the charity stripe on 1.9 attempts per game. He signed a contract with the Knicks this season, where he'll presumably claim the backup job behind Mitchell Robinson. That said, Robinson has never played more than 27.5 minutes per game in a season, so he and Hartenstein may end up more in a time split. If Hartenstein continues having a similar usage level as he did on the Clippers, he could fall in fantasy sleeper territory this season. When seeing minutes in the 20s last year, the center averaged 11.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.3 combined blocks-plus-steals - sizable numbers that would certainly hold standard-league relevance. Managers in standard leagues may have an opportunity to grab him off the waiver wire at some point, but he should be a staple as a draft-day flier in deeper leagues and best ball formats.

Hartenstein is expected to compete with Paul Millsap and rookie Zeke Nnaji for the top backup role at center behind superstar Nikola Jokic. Over his 23 appearances with the Rockets in 2019-20, Hartenstein was one of the league's stronger producers on a per-minute basis. He averaged 4.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.5 blocks and 0.4 steals in 11.6 minutes of run while converting at a 65.7 percent clip from the field. However, given the 22-year-old's expected role this season, he can largely be passed on from a fantasy standpoint.

A second-round pick in 2017, Hartenstein mostly toiled in the G League over his first two professional seasons. The seven-footer averaged 9.5 points and 6.5 rebounds over 38 games for Rio Grande during the 2017-18 campaign before putting up 19.5 points, 14.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.0 blocks across 32.3 minutes over 26 games for the Vipers last season. Hartenstein also got his first taste of action at the NBA level, appearing in another 28 games for the Rockets during 2018-19 and parlaying a modest 7.9 minutes per contest into averages of 1.9 points and 1.7 rebounds (28 games). Hartenstein then continued his development in the Las Vegas Summer League and was on his way to a stellar showing by putting 16.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 1.7 steals over his first three games in the desert before a right ankle injury shut him down. As that collection of numbers indicates, Hartenstein has essentially demonstrated improvement on each occasion that he's been given extended playing time, which bodes well for his future prospects. However, in Houston, his path to meaningful playing time to open the new season is blocked by Clint Capela at the top of the center depth chart, along with a pair of grizzled but still capable veterans in Tyson Chandler and Nene Hilario behind him. Therefore, Hartenstein may be set for a modest allotment of playing time for a second straight season when it comes to the NBA level, although it's certainly possible he moves up a notch on the depth chart if Chandler proves to be expendable or experiences a notable downturn in his play during what will be his age-36 season.

Hartenstein was drafted by the Rockets in the second round of the 2017 draft, but spent last year in the G League, where he averaged 9.5 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists in just under 19 minutes per game. The German native then joined the Rockets for summer league this July and came out of it with a guaranteed contract. He'll provide depth at both power forward and center, but will likely spend most of the year in a developmental capacity and will likely need multiple injuries to occur to become a relevant Fantasy player.