Magic will meet higher expectations; 5 predictions

4. Jonathan Isaac will begin to break out

We saw flashes of the player Jonathan Isaac could be last season, especially after Christmas when he was posting the best, albeit still modest, numbers of his young career. Now entering year three, throughout the preseason he has looked like a player who is comfortable with more being asked of them.

Again it is important to highlight that these games mean nothing, at least from a numbers perspective. But the way Isaac is carrying himself on the court is just different and the brief taste of the playoffs he had last season can only have helped as well. When you’re able to do the below to Joel Embiid, no matter the setting, it provides fans with reason to be excited.

Isaac’s improvements with likely be more noticeable on the defensive end, where the Orlando Magic had a rating of 107.3 when he was on the court last season.

For the year as a whole, they ranked seventh (107.6), but look for those two numbers to grow further apart this coming campaign. Isaac is sure to take another leap on that end, and his offseason work on his body is sure to help in this regard.

Being a part of the Team USA camp before they headed off on a disappointing FIBA World Cup run (which Isaac was not a part of), was one thing. But it is clear he packed on some much needed muscle during the summer period as well, as he told John Denton during the second day of training camp.

"“It was tough and I’m still trying to keep that same regimen as much as possible with us in training camp and us travelling around for the season. It got to the point where I didn’t want to eat, and I didn’t look forward to eating. “I was trying to get upwards of 5,000 (calories) a day, but I feel stronger, and every aspect of playing basketball with a stronger body, it’s been good for me.”"

Offensively we may not see Isaac show out straight away, although given that he only averaged 9.6 points per game last season, even bumping that number up to 13 or so a night would be an improvement. But it is as a playmaker that we may see him evolve offensively and take the next step.

Already during the preseason we have seen him bring the ball up the court more, and he looks so comfortable dribbling and passing that it seems crazy that it could have improved so much over the course of only one summer. Improved defending, handles and passing mean Isaac should quickly establish himself as a key player this coming season.