Houston Rockets: Three unheralded players who could provide a boost

Isaiah Hartenstein, C

The Houston Rockets selected Isaiah Hartenstein in the second round of the 2017 draft. The 7’0″ German national had extremely intriguing potential then and still does today. Hartenstein is still younger than 21 years old and has a lot of time to develop his NBA game.

Hartenstein’s massive size lends him the ability to get rebounds fairly easily and block shots. These two things are huge parts of his game and areas he’s excelled at in his limited minutes so far this season. Per 100 possessions, he’s averaging about 10 rebounds and nearly three blocks.

However, Hartenstein has a developing offensive game that has a shot to grow into a terrific ancillary piece. Per 100 possessions, he’s scoring about 14 points but how he’s getting them is intriguing. Of course, he has the easy dump off points in the paint but he is working turning himself into a stretch five and is performing well in minimal chances.

The Houston Rockets are working on figuring out who is going to spell Capela when he needs a breather. So far this season, Capela has played career-high minutes and is going to need some rest eventually. The team currently plans on giving that role back to Nene once he is finally healthy but playing Hartenstein more is a better answer.

Hartenstein is only playing a measly 8.7 minutes per game. That’s no way to develop a player nor figure out what you have in him. He’d be better off plying his craft in the G-League if he’s going to stay at this minute level. So, the Rockets should take advantage of his time with them and utilize his unique skillset behind Capela and develop him in a rebound, shot-blocking, stretch five. Doing so would be a huge boost to the team now and in the future.