Here's Game 2 with the 8 of 9 threes. Kinda slow release like DMo, but if you leave him wide open ...
#15 from other team is da real MVP. How do you let a guy who is hot continue to take wide open threes?
If nothing else, once he learns to defend at an NBA level, he'll be a very serviceable backup to Clint. And don't overlook that this G-League award and the playoff run have increased his value as a trade chip. "Okay, what if we give you Eric Gordon and G-League Finals MVP Isaiah Hartenstein?"
Morey's gotten some grief from certain quarters here (what's new?), but one thing even they should acknowledge as a brilliant move by Daryl Morey in 2009 is making the Rockets the first team to become a single affiliate of a D-League team, the Vipers, an investment that has paid off. We were the first team to invest in a D-League franchise and not share use of the team with other NBA teams in order to reduce costs. It enabled the Rockets to use it more like a Triple A team in minor league baseball. We don't actually own the Vipers, I don't think, but we might be described as co-owners? We installed our own coaching staff and the system we use in Houston (subject to experimentation, of course). Hartenstein is a good example of a player developing with the Vipers, with time spent in Houston as well as the Valley, the decisions entirely in the hands of the organization as long as they are made within the rules. Morey's move was quickly copied across the league, something increasing the synergy between the G-League teams and the teams that own them, or have an investment agreement with local ownership to be the sole affiliate. A very interesting change starting next year is the ability to offer "Select Contracts" worth up to $125,000 to young players as an alternative for guys who can't or don't want to attend college. We'll see how that works. There have been other, more recent changes offering flexibility to affiliated teams, the "two-way" contracts we've made use of. Sorry to go off on a tangent. There are folks here that know a hell of a lot more about this stuff than I do!
excited for backup minutes next year for Hart. Should gives us a very different dimension off the bench than what we currently have.
lol at Morey referencing Giannis but as far as Hartenstein goes ...he looks like he's ready for backup minutes in the NBA. I anticipate him sliding into the backup 5 role next year.
Come on, man. Come with a bolder prediction than that. I anticipate him sliding into the backup 1 role next year! THERE! NOW THAT IS A BOLD PREDICTION! Point Hart.
Not a tangent. Morey laid the groundwork to develop late, inexpensive picks outside of our NBA team which will be vital to plugging players around an increasingly expensive CP3 and Harden. The Vipers are very much like an Astro's minor league team. Hartenstein would have never gotten minutes on a Rockets teams with such high expectations and would have sat on the bench. Instead he played a significant amount of minutes for the Vipers in a system resembling the Rockets.
He is a good passer for a big . If he can continue to work on his 3 , he could definitely play next to Clint . Clint can guard quicker forwards if hartenstein isn't up to the task .
Hartenstein is in a very awkward position, he is too good for Gleague but too much of a scrub in the NBA. Maybe he should have gone to div I Euroleague this year and then transitioned to NBA next year. Hopefully a summer of working out with the team will give him aple preparation to play in the NBA.
He's 20 years old. He made a huge leap this year. The G-league was the perfect place for him this year. He also got some practice time and minutes with the Rockets. Next season should be the year he transitions to the NBA. He just needs to learn how to compete against the more athletic NBA players. He's only 20 years old, so I think he will figure things out. He seems to be adding to his offensive arsenal. I'm looking forward to seeing his step-back three.
How is the GLeague perfect for him when he is wrecking the league with Hakeem level stats? 0 challenge, and pretty sure he didnt learn anything its like playing in the rec park. They run 0 system and everybody is desperate to put up stats to get noticed by the NBA, nobody plays D and everyone plays with low intensity to prevent injuries which can damage their stock. What mins are you talking about? The 3 mins where he looked lost and got yanked? If he played in Div 1 Europe he would get real coaching and experience competition perfect for his skill level. He would also face a lot of contact and have to deal with vet smarts of other people. Look at Doncic and his low learning curve in the NBA, playing in the 2nd best league in the world before the NBA did wonders for him. Anyway just my opinion but since Euroleague is higher difficulty than Gleague I think it would have been better preparation for him. Can't tell if you are serious with your last par. Stepback 3 with a 7 footer, seems a great way to create stress fractures for his legs.
Um....He is playing basically in the Rockets' system. He has access to NBA coaches and trainers in the G-League. He has spent time in the Rockets' locker room. All that does WONDERS for certain player's development.
Rocket's system is give the ball to Harden and get out of the way, it's not complicated and players like Rivers and Faried got the hang of it immediately. Also RGV doesn't have anybody on Harden, Cp3 and EG's level so even if they try to play the same system, it's not the same as we can see by Harty's high usage rate. Access to Rox trainers and locker room can wait till the summer, how much access does he really have he is not even with the team he is on bus trips along with the rest of RGV. I would argue the dev team and trainers of Euroleague div 1 teams is a lot better than GLeague staff, unlike GLeague their top players also make millions of dollars a year instead of 30k usd per player. This means their facilities and trainers are also way better than what GLeague is getting. Harty could have used better competition to see what he can really do and then trained with the team in the summer. Posting averages of 25 and 12 in the Gleague isnt gonna help him in the NBA.
The drawback is we develop the players while under contract and when their contract is due the player wants to get paid —> House & DMo. We get very little benefit if the player we spent time on is with another team.
