Orlando Magic: Jonathan Isaac continuing to improve

Although the Orlando Magic have stumbled as of late, second-year forward Jonathan Isaac is continuing to improve his game.

The Orlando Magic may be in the midst of another tough road swing that could come to define their season, but some of their players are continuing to grow even in these tough circumstances — perhaps none more so than Jonathan Isaac, the second-year forward who is becoming more consistent and called upon more regularly by head coach Steve Clifford on a nightly basis.

Isaac hasn’t had it all his way so far this season, and nagging injuries that derailed his rookie year threatened to haunt him once more.

The fact he is on the court more frequently, however, is progress in itself, especially when you consider he only appeared in 27 games (starting 10) in what quickly became another rebuilding campaign last year. Those missed games as the Magic headed for the lottery were the perfect time to get some reps in the league.

Isaac didn’t get this opportunity, instead spending time with the Magic’s G League affiliate in Lakeland on his way back from ankle issues that, given Isaac’s body type, were concerning right away.

It is much more promising he has already started 21 of the 32 games he’s played this season, especially when you consider the Magic are trying to be competitive in a playoff race that they are by no means out of, and also because there is more talent on this team than in previous years.

Center Nikola Vucevic may be the focal point, but sixth man Terrence Ross and both Evan Fournier and Aaron Gordon also receive attention for how they help the team — Fournier for his offensive exploits, Gordon for his rapidly growing ability to defend an opponent’s best player.

So while Isaac has been getting lost among these players, it is also true that he slides in well next to all of the guys mentioned. He doesn’t demand a lot of the ball and works diligently on the other end of the court. He also had a coming-out party of sorts earlier in the year too, being one of the standout performers in the Magic’s duel with the Golden State Warriors.

His numbers don’t jump off the page, but they are all steady improvements on last season. The guy is only 21 years old and playing on a bubble playoff team in the East, so it is fair to say he continues to move in the right direction.

Isaac is averaging 8.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. His 3-point shooting percentage (29.9 percent) needs to improve, especially when his ability to stretch the floor from the forward spot was one of his selling points coming out of college in Florida State.

It is not all bad, however, as the Magic’s offense doesn’t suffer when he is on the court, which is a real plus. They have an offensive rating of 104.9 as a team, but that number falls to only 103.9 when Isaac is out there.

As you might imagine, it gets better on the defensive end, although it isn’t immediately clear through the numbers. But even by watching Isaac play on any given night, it is evident that he is having an impact on that end with the way he can contest jump shots in the paint.

The Magic’s slightly above-average defensive rating of 108.6 actually improves a tiny bit to 108.0 when Isaac is on the court. Even better, the five-man group they typically start games with (D.J. Augustin, Fournier, Gordon, Isaac and Vucevic) has a defensive rating of 102.5.

That number would put them second in the entire NBA if it applied to their whole team. That five-man group has also logged the 12th-most minutes together of any qualifying group so far this season (268) which tells you how quietly important Isaac is becoming.

The fact that he is now fit enough to be able to stay on the court to even be in this group is a plus, but to then have a positive impact and his own defined role is even better. Looking at the minutes Isaac has played recently, there is no reason to think he can’t improve.

The 24.4 minutes he’s playing every night represent a significant increase on his rookie average (19.9 per game), despite missing a small amount of time injured back in November and having a minutes restriction in place as a result.

So far in January, Isaac has averaged 26.4 minutes per game. Although it is early in the month, that number has already crept up to 27 and shows no signs of slowing down. Isaac has also had 11 25+ minute games since Dec. 1. He had managed only seven before that.

There’s no doubt that coach Clifford sees Jonathan Isaac continuing to feature more heavily as the season progresses for the Orlando Magic, and the numbers he is posting as he is given more of a chance are helping this team to be competitive in every game.

He’s not getting a ton of recognition right now, but that will come in time, especially as he starts figuring out how to take over games more like we saw in that loss to the Warriors. For now though, he is an excellent complementary piece for Orlando’s postseason ambitions, chipping in where necessary.

His shooting needs to improve and there’s no question he could be having a bigger impact defensively as well, which we have seen in flashes. But right now Isaac is improving in all the areas that you would like him to, and before long he is going to be a problem for the rest of the league.