After a terrible injury that kept him out for more than 900 days, one of the best defensive big men in the league showed great things against the Kings. And if he continues to be well…
Riccardo Pratesi
March 24 – 6.55pm – MILAN
Look who shows up again, Jonathan Isaac. The big man from Orlando against Sacramento last night scored 25 points shooting 10/13 from the field, pulled down 7 rebounds and finished with +26 plus/minus – the team score with him on the court – in a game lost by two points from his Magic. A capital performance for an unlucky athlete, persecuted by injuries, at just 26 years of age, more than some are now considered a lost cause compared to the champion he could have been without the forced stops. A role player, if anything, a defensive specialist. Well, don’t run, it hasn’t been said yet. Isaac has an unexpressed potential that is not even second to that of Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, the stars of the Magic now close to the playoffs. It’s all about being able to find the physical guarantee, the athletic continuity capable of allowing him to make the difference not only occasionally, but night after night. Against the Kings he looked like a Martian, the futurist champion imagined in the 2017 Draft, when he was chosen by Orlando with pick no.6. Will it be the right time?
904 days of doubts
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Isaac, a big boy of 208 centimeters and 105 kilograms, was out due to injury for 904 consecutive days, two NBA seasons in a row, 2020-21 and 2021-22, due to the rupture of the cruciate ligament in his left knee suffered in August 2020, in Orlando’s anti-pandemic bubble. More than one thing had gone wrong since then, and he was only able to return to the field on January 24, 2023 when for many it was already the past, a lost cause, a painful regret, but to be forgotten, looking forward. Last season Isaac played 11 games, just 11 minutes at a time, this season he has played 49 times, once as a starter, for just over 15 minutes on average. 7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.2 blocks. Figures of a supporting character, but his part-time employment follows the logic of athletic fitness, not technical choices. The fear of definitively shattering a crystal as magnificent as it is fragile is the Magic’s compass. But that doesn’t mean it always has to be this way. An Isaac capable of playing at least 23 minutes, the ones he showed against the Kings, would already make all the difference in the world in terms of the prospects of both the player and the franchise
defense and plus minus
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Because Isaac is a sensational player, potentially. One of the best defenders around among NBA big men. He is capable of marking different opponents, from super athletes like Wiliamson to cerebral champions like Sabonis. To excel in one’s own half of the court both under the basket and by “changing” marking and climbing on the perimeter. Tall, long, applied and intelligent: the identikit is that of an athlete capable of becoming an adhesive that can be stuck to every opposing scorer. Don’t be fooled by the modest surface numbers. There’s more beyond the tip of the iceberg. First in the team for plus/minus, even. By a wide margin. We are talking about +192, compared to the +9 of Paolo Banchero, the franchise All Star, the man of the last shots. Franz Wagner, the German world champion in 2023, is second in this ranking, far behind: +157. In short, in the minutes in which he is on the parquet the Magic win. In fact, they win by a landslide. If he found offensive continuity again, he who has been trained as a great defender since his university days at Florida State, could transform into a total weapon for the Magic, who would find their most valuable reinforcement at home. The tide seems to have turned for a franchise that hasn’t won a playoff series since 2010 and now rides on the hype of a 42-29 record
faith and counter-current choices
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Isaac is used to running against the wind. Not just because of the injuries. Born in the Bronx, New York, he moved to Florida when he was in school. Tall, different from the others. African American surrounded by white peers. At the time of high school he was the best prospect, yet haunted by a permanent anxiety, by his explicit admission, which he hid at the time and which later in the NBA he was able to face and fight. Religion helped him. A deep faith that he has gradually developed over the years as a professional. Who comforted him in difficult times. Which gave him the strength to make unpopular decisions. Isaac was the only Magic player not to kneel for the national anthem at a time when NBA players had adopted the themes of the Black Lives Matter social movement aimed at reporting and combating ethnic discrimination in the States. “I see the problem, but I have a different solution” he repeated then, a voice out of the chorus. Then Isaac did not get vaccinated against Covid, the only Magic player to make that decision. “It seems like a forced step, imposed by pressure, I don’t feel like doing it when the vaccine doesn’t prevent me from catching Covid or passing it on.” These were his words at the time. Again only like a hermit or almost, compared to the position prevailing in the NBA at the time.
ALL WITH HIM
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Don’t think, however, that Isaac’s awkward positions have isolated him in the Magic locker room. He assumed them with the tones of a man of faith: blunt words aimed at explaining the positions taken, not at exaggerating them. He spoke for himself, he never attacked others. Who carry it in their hearts. When he hurt his knee against Atlanta a month ago, the words of relief from his coach, Mosley, were heartwarming: “My heart dropped when I saw him get injured, luckily the first tests are comforting. Tenacious, persevering boy. Tough. We all went to see him to make sure everything was ok.” Franz Wagner was also pragmatic: “You never want any of your teammates to get hurt, but especially Isaac, after all the physical problems he had to fight. And then we need him.” Here, because if Isaac could really feel good for the Magic, bigger and more important scenarios would open up. Of glory
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2024-03-24 21:23:07
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