Knicks’ Isaiah Hartenstein ruled out for remainder of Raptors game with troubling injury

The New York Knicks have another concerning injury to deal with, as big man Isaiah Hartenstein got ruled out for the rest of Saturday night’s home game versus the Toronto Raptors with a lower-body issue.

“Isaiah Hartenstein (sore left ankle) is out for the remainder of the game vs. Toronto,” the Knicks public relations department’s official X account shared.

That is far from ideal for the Knicks, who have been loving the way Hartenstein is playing in the 2023-24 NBA season. Hartenstein has been an efficient scorer and a rebounding machine for New York, which expanded his role on the team following the injury that continues to sideline Mitchell Robinson. Before he left the Raptors game in the third period, Hartenstein had a point and four rebounds in 23 minutes of action.

Should Hartenstein need time to recover from his injury, the Knicks are likely to get both Precious Achuiwa and Jericho Sims more minutes to help fill the void in the team’s frontcourt.

Hartenstein is playing in his second season with the Knicks and has been enjoying the most minutes per game so far in his career in the NBA. He entered the date with the Raptors with season averages of 6.7 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.1 blocks per outing, while also seeing action 25.6 minutes per game.

The hope is that Hartenstein’s injury is not serious enough to keep him out for an extended period of time.

The Knicks will have two full days of rest after playing Toronto before taking on the Brooklyn Nets on the road this coming Tuesday.