DETROIT – Months from now, when the final evaluations are made about Jonathan Isaac’s promising second season in the NBA, it is likely that two dates – Jan. 29 and March 26 – will be circled as defining moments for the prized power forward.
Also, they might go down as tide-turning, critical junctures for an Orlando Magic team that is in the midst of its best stretch of basketball in more than nine years.
On Jan. 29, the NBA released the 10-man rosters for the Team USA and Team World squads that would compete in the Rising Stars Challenge during Feb. 15-17 All-Star Weekend. Being passed over – and rightly so at the time because of his injury and shooting struggles over the first 1 ½ seasons of his NBA career – triggered something inside of the usually cheery and mild-mannered Isaac. Incredibly now, some 25 games and 17 Magic victories later, Isaac looks back at Jan. 29 as something of a turning point in his career.
Now, flash forward to Tuesday in Miami (March 26), when Orlando was in an absolute must-win situation while facing a rival Heat team ahead of it in the standings. The crowd inside American Airlines Arena was roaring early in the night as Miami built a 17-point, second-quarter lead. Isaac, who was understandably jittery playing in the biggest game of his young pro career, had a hand in the early woes, missing three 3-pointers, committing two fouls and turning the ball over twice in his first eight minutes on the floor.
Like the rookie-sophomore all-star snub earlier in the season, something triggered inside of Isaac after his poor start to get himself back on track. He made his final three shots of the second quarter, blocked a shot and had a steal to set up a layup of his.
As it turns out, it was just a primer for what was to come next. Confidently stroking the same shots that Miami dared him to take in a rocky first half, Isaac made his first four field goals of the second half – three 3-pointers and a driving layup – for 11 points. His stellar production – 19 points, six rebounds, three 3-pointers, two blocks, two assists and a steal – keyed a 62-48 burst and sparked the Magic to a thrilling 104-99 come-from-behind defeat of the Heat.
``I’m happy about the way I played, but especially about the way this team played with the way we started,’’ Isaac said of a victory that vaulted Orlando into the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference standings. ``In that second half, we were really able to put it together and get it together and it was great.
``(Confidence) is what was going through my head – just continue to shoot the ball when you’re open,’’ added Isaac, who made eight of 13 shots and three of eight threes in the game. ``When I got that first one to fall from the corner, it just felt like everything opened up for me. So, yeah, I think I definitely see some growth and maturity in myself through the course of this season.’’
Isaac’s big night – combined with 24 points and 16 rebounds from all-star center Nikola Vucevic and some gritty second-half defense against Miami (36.4 percent shooting over the last 24 minutes) – allowed the Magic (37-38) to win for a sixth consecutive time. It’s the franchise’s longest winning streak since Dec. 23, 2010 to Jan. 8, 2011 when it ultimately strung together nine straight victories.
Some two weeks ago, the Magic limped back to Orlando following a disappointing loss in Washington, D.C., they knew the stretch of games ahead would almost certainly define their season. Since March 13, Orlando has toppled Cleveland, Atlanta, New Orleans, Memphis, Philadelphia and Miami to vault into the East’s top-eight.
After enduring a six-year postseason drought, the Magic have put finally themselves in position to reach the playoffs if they can take care of business over the final seven games of the regular season. Dead ahead is a showdown against the reeling Pistons (37-37) in Detroit on Thursday (7 p.m.). The No. 7 Pistons have lost three straight games and the Magic can overtake them in the standings with another victory on Thursday.
``That (winning streak) is so amazing to hear and it makes us all so happy,’’ Isaac said. ``Coach (Steve Clifford) has been fantastic with how he’s handled us in our ups and downs. We’ve got seven games left, especially a big one against Detroit. I think we’re really realizing that we’re a good team and we can play with anyone in this league.’’
For months, Isaac’s teammates have been trying to coax him into confidently believing that he, too, can play with anyone in the NBA. Since training camp, shooting guard Evan Fournier called Isaac the Magic’s ``X-factor’’ when he’s making open shots, and Vucevic considered the slender forward to be the equivalent of a free-agent addition because he played so infrequently as a rookie.
As it turns out, Isaac’s play has often served as a barometer for the Magic’s fortunes. His scoring (10.3 points compared to 8.8), rebounding (6.1 compared to 4.8), defense (1.7 blocks compared to 1.0 blocks), overall shooting (46.4 percent compared to 40.4 percent) and 3-point shooting (36 percent compared to 28.5) are significantly better in the 33 wins he’s played in as opposed to the 36 losses.
In Isaac’s first 44 games of the season – when Orlando had a forgettable 16-28 record – his production (8.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.1 blocks, 40.9 percent shooting, 28 percent accuracy from 3-point range and a minus-2.4 plus-minus rating) was pedestrian. Since the Rising Stars all-star snub, Isaac’s nightly involvement (12.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.7 blocks, 46.5 percent shooting, 36.2 percent accuracy from 3-point range and a plus-5.2 plus-minus rating) has skyrocketed. Not surprisingly, Orlando is 17-8 in those 25 games.
``He’s the X-factor, man, that’s what I told (the media) earlier in the season,’’ Fournier said of Isaac’s ability to elevate Orlando offensively and defensively.
``I actually got onto him in the game (on Tuesday night) because he started really slow,’’ Fournier added. ``He shot the ball (in the first half), but he was missing, and we told him to keep shooting and he did. He was such an X-factor. Nineteen points and so gritty on defense, he played a helluva game.’’
In the 16 games since the break for the All-Star Game, Isaac has averaged 11 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks while hitting 45.8 percent of his shots and 40 percent of his threes. He’s posted 17 double-digit scoring nights in February and March and, incredibly, the Magic are 12-5 in those games. Additionally, they are 4-3 over the last two months when he makes at least three 3-pointers in a game – as he did in clutch fashion on Tuesday in Miami.
``He’s been (shooting well) game after game now and when his shots are there, he’s taking them,’’ Clifford raved. ``He’s got a lot of confidence, which comes when you put as much work into it as he does. I feel like he knows he’s going to make them when he’s open. He’s made great strides that way.’’
To fully understand the sheer delight that Isaac reveled in on Tuesday night, you must comprehend the rocky road that he traveled just to make it to the decisive second half. Isaac’s rookie season was marred by ankle and foot injuries, limiting him to just 27 appearances on an NBA court. On March 26 a year ago, Isaac was out of action with a left foot strain – the third of four injuries that derailed him.
The nearly 7-foot forward played so little and in so few meaningful games in 2017-18 that Clifford looked at this season as Isaac’s ``second rookie season.’’
Isaac ultimately overcame his first-season woes by dedicating himself to bettering his body and growing his game last summer. And when this season started off slowly, he stuck with it and has often been the Magic’s first player in the gym the night after games to get in extra shooting and weight work. That grind has made the success even more gratifying, he said.
``Personally, it’s definitely satisfying, especially doing it on a night like (Tuesday) when there was so much energy in the arena. To be a part of silencing the crowd a couple of times was so nice,’’ Isaac insisted. ``I’m happy for not only myself, but for this entire team for the way we’ve battled.’’
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