Looking at Hartenstein's individual stats on Cleaning the Glass, which shows where he ranks in specific areas against other centers, reveals he has a couple of strong points but overall is a pretty bad player.
This is his third year in the league. His usage rate went from the 6th percentile his rookie year to the 23rd percentile last year and the 61st percentile this year. So as a rookie he just tried to stay out of the way but the last two years his confidence has grown and now he's more involved in the offense than the average center when he's in the game.
This increased involvement has resulted in a decline in productivity. Last year he was in the 97th percentile in points per shot attempt and the 93rd in effective field goal percentage. With numbers like that I suspect the only shots he took were uncontested dunks. This year the numbers are 16 and 20, respectively. He's not just taking easy shots anymore and his efficiency is way down as his usage rate goes up. His usage rate needs to go back down a bit.
He's also a turnover machine, scoring in the 3rd, 6th, and 7th percentiles in turnover rate his first three years. He's improving, but very slowly. Lots of turnovers and missed shots compared to other centers.
One thing he's good at offensively is getting fouled where he ranked in the 73rd, 79th, and 87th percentile his three years in the pros. He's a poor shooter but for some reason he gets fouled a lot. Unfortunately, he's only hitting 59.4% of his free throws this year so those fouls don't help the team much.
He's a strong offensive rebounder and getting better. He ranked in the 55th, 88th, and 94th percentile his first three years. As bad a shooter as he is and as much as he turns the ball over he shouldn't do anything on offense except rebounding.
Defensively he's pretty disruptive. In block percentage he was in the 91st, 58th, and 90th percentiles among centers. In steal percentage it was 79, 80, and 85. Lots of blocks and steals per minute played. However, he's too aggressive as he ranked 0, 6, and 3 in foul percentage. In his eagerness to block shots, steal the ball, and crash the offensive glass he's a foul machine.
Whether the coaching staff can improve his shooting percentage, teach him to reduce his turnovers, and stop fouling so much is the question. If they can get him to league average in those areas he could be a serviceable backup center, IMO.
