Orlando Magic: Should they turn Jonathan Isaac loose?

With the Orlando Magic’s season stuttering from one issue to the next, is it now time to turn this team over to Jonathan Isaac for the rest of the season?

When the Orlando Magic selected forward Jonathan Isaac with the fifth pick in last summer’s draft, it was seen by most as a smart move. He was a player with a body type not unlike Kevin Durant who could give this team some much-needed flexibility.

While there were some small, promising flashes early on, Isaac’s rookie season will ultimately be remembered as one blighted by injury. That essentially all of his time missed was as a result of a nagging ankle injury is even more cause for concern. Players of Isaac’s size and build often struggling with lower leg injuries.

However he is finally nearing a return to first team action, having had a run out with the team’s G League affiliate, the Lakeland Magic, late last week.

Given how little we’ve seen of him this season, how imperative it is that he gets reps? And because losing is what the team is supposed to be doing right now, should the Magic just turn things over to him to close out the season?

Of course, it is not as easy as simply turning the team over to a rookie, especially since Isaac will likely be on a minutes restriction when he makes his welcome return, most likely against the Toronto Raptors.

There are certainly a number of positives to making Isaac the focal point for the remainder of the regular season though, mostly because the organization needs to see what he can give straight away.

Isaac has averages of 5.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game this season, while his Player Efficiency Rating (PER) of 9.5 isn’t worth talking about either. His 3-point shooting percentage of 27.8 percent is very poor, but we saw enough of his shooting touch in college to know he’s capable of better.

The Magic had better hope so, as becoming better from distance should be a real key for them next season. The hope is Isaac will be able to help there too.

Really though, what is most concerning is the fact Isaac has a lower output in these categories than the following players did in their rookie seasons:

• Victor Oladipo: 13.8 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 13.6 PER
• Elfrid Payton: 8.9 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 13.8 PER
• Mario Hezonja: 6.1 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 9.4 PER
• Aaron Gordon: 5.2 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 11.4 PER

Regardless of injury, having similar output to Hezonja that first season is not ideal. Then again, he’s only played 15 games so far, and you only have to look at how much Oladipo, Gordon and Hezonja have improved to believe that Isaac is destined to do the same thing.

Another big reason to give Isaac all the run he wants when fully healthy is because of the dark clouds that have begun to circle around Gordon. As a restricted free agent this summer, there has already been talk that a number of teams will come in with an offer sheet for him.

The Magic would be crazy to let the closest thing they have to a franchise player go (see Oladipo, Victor) in the summer. Yet a cursory look online reveals that some fans are already concerned that offering Gordon a long-term deal may not be the best move for the team.

So should the organization decide to go in a different direction this summer (that lottery pick should continue to rise if they’re lucky), at least they have Isaac in place if Gordon is allowed to leave.

For this reason, it would make sense to play Isaac both with and without Gordon on the floor a considerable amount, just to see how he impacts the team in those two different situations.

Although Isaac won’t technically be a rookie next year, he will have missed so many games this season (he’s appeared in just 15 so far) that it will still feel like he is one a lot of nights.

For this reason, he should also come off the bench for the Magic when he returns, to see how he jells with the second unit.

More from Orlando Magic

• The most exciting NBA team you won’t see on national TV this season
• 5 NBA teams on the rise that will surprise everyone in 2023-24
• Ranking the 10 championship-less NBA teams by closeness to title
• Orlando Magic draft odds: What are the chances of landing the #1 pick?
• Franz Wagner has smashed the sophomore slump for the Orlando Magic

The key here though is that the offense should run through Isaac even more in this instance, while pairing him with center Khem Birch in the second unit could unlock their true defensive potential as a team.

Right now, the Magic rank 25th in rebounding (41.2 per game) and 27th in defensive rating (109), and whether Isaac is starting or coming off the bench, he can absolutely have a positive impact on both those numbers right away.

Another way the team should look at utilizing Isaac is by putting the ball in his hands more when he’s on the court. Right now he has a 14.9 percent usage rate, which ranks 10th on this team.

Veteran Marreese Speights leads the Magic in usage (26.7 percent), and really the goal now should be taking the ball out of veterans’ hands and giving it to Isaac more.

With point guard Elfrid Payton gone, why not see how point-forward Jonathan Isaac could look for the Magic? We’ve seen in his limited playing time that he has solid distribution skills for a big man. Besides, wasn’t lineup versatility one of the big plusses in signing Isaac anyway?

This may be a step too far for him, especially so early in his career, but depressingly, the games don’t matter anymore so it has to be worth a try.

Next: NBA Rookie of the Year ladder, Week 20

In the end, seeing what a healthy Jonathan Isaac can do in a bigger role is what the remaining regular season should be for the Orlando Magic.