To understand
just how valuable rookie Jonathan Isaac is to the Orlando Magic, consider his recent defensive outing against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Even Jonathan Isaac thought he made a mistake with 14.6 seconds remaining in the Orlando Magic’s game Saturday night against the Memphis Grizzlies.
With the Magic ahead by three points, the Grizzlies’ Jarell Martin caught the basketball in the right corner and pumpfaked. Isaac leaped into the air. As Isaac’s momentum carried him toward the intersection of the baseline and sideline, Martin dribbled, took two steps left and elevated to launch the potential game-tying shot.
Isaac kept fighting. The moment he landed on his initial leap, he rushed toward Martin, raised his long left arm into the air and jumped. Isaac blocked the shot, and the ball descended well short of the hoop, preserving the Magic’s narrow lead.
That sequence, like many others during Isaac’s 33 total minutes of playing time Friday and Saturday, demonstrated how valuable the rookie forward already is to Orlando’s defense.
On Friday, in Isaac’s first NBA game since he aggravated an ankle injury on Dec. 26, the Magic
held the Detroit Pistons to 43.5 percent shooting. On Saturday, the Magic limited the Grizzlies to 40.9 percent shooting.
“It’s, to me, directly tied to him being on the floor,” coach Frank Vogel said after the win over Memphis. “There were about eight or nine plays tonight where he was directly responsible for just forcing a miss. He didn’t get the blocked shot or anything like that, but he was just in the vicinity and he’s so long he just changes things. He changes shots for us, and he changes us as a basketball team on the defensive end.”
Hard data support Vogel’s conclusion. According to the NBA’s playertracking system, Isaac contested 17 shots total on Friday and Saturday — more than any other Magic player even though Isaac played half as many minutes as most of the starters.
Then consider this: The Magic have limited opponents to 45.3 percent shooting in the 17 games Isaac has played this season, but the Magic have allowed 48.1 percent shooting in the 46 games Isaac has missed, according to the NBA’s statistical database.
The team needs him to develop into a major difference-maker. Isaac’s combination of height, long arms, quick feet, smarts and sound instincts prompted the Magic to select him sixth overall in the 2017 NBA Draft.
Because Isaac missed so many games due to his ankle injury, several other rookies drafted after him — including Chicago Bulls power forward Lauri Markkanen, Dallas Mavericks point guard Dennis Smith Jr. and Utah Jazz shooting guard Donovan Mitchell — have been much more productive than Isaac has been.
Many questions about Isaac remain: Will he stay healthy? Can he add more productive muscle to his slender 6-foot-10, 222-pound frame? And how much will his admittedly raw skill set on offense improve?
“I’m honestly not real comfortable yet in terms of offense and things like that,” Isaac said. “I’m still learning spacing and all these other things. But I’m comfortable defensively. I have my defensive instincts and I just play.”
Even though Isaac is still knocking off rust from his long injury layoff, his performances Friday and Saturday on defense impressed everyone.
“It’s really difficult to score over him if he stays in front of you,” swingman Evan Fournier said. “He’s just so long and he has a quick reaction time. So it makes it really difficult to just get a shot off. And if you do, you really have to find another angle.
“In only two games, he’s doing a terrific job of being in passing lanes, just blocking shots and just being there.”
Tougher challenges loom.
On Sunday, the Magic left Florida to begin a fivegame West Coast road trip in which they’ll face tougher competition, including the Jazz, Los Angeles Clippers and San Antonio Spurs.
And once the season ends, Isaac must make the most of a critical offseason.
The summer between an NBA player’s first and second professional seasons is crucial. After a year learning about the pros, youngsters must take advantage of the opportunity to improve, and Isaac has a lengthy to-do list. He must increase his strength and conditioning, refine his offensive repertoire and inch closer to his goal of weighing about 230 pounds.
For now, though, Isaac feels happy just to be healthy again.
His defense already has helped the Magic win both of their games since he returned from his injury.
“It definitely wasn’t easy just to stay patient and wait my turn,” Isaac said. “Now I’m just doing whatever I can to help. That’s me.”