Confidence the key for Jonathan Isaac to put all the pieces together

Jonathan Isaac needed time to build the confidence to make a mark in the Blue-White Game. Building his confidence is the key to unlocking his potential.

The missed shot for Jonathan Isaac in the opening minutes of Team U.S.A.’s Blue-White Game was a familiar one for Orlando Magic fans.

The ball swung its way to him and he looked to shoot fairly quickly. The ball was nowhere near the basket, careening off the backboard.

Jonathan Isaac had his share of air-balled 3-pointers early in games as he got a feel for things. It was always a sign that shooting is still something he is working to develop and make more consistent. He is still a player with a long way to go. And that airball is still a familiar site.

But like those games, confidence came eventually. And slowly, all of Isaac’s talent and physical skills started to come to the forefront.

Isaac can still be more than a player who helps spread the floor and fits in within an offense. But that is where he is comfortable it seems. Branching out of that box seems to be the challenge for Isaac.

When he gets there, as Magic fans have seen in just a few glimmers, Isaac looks like a special player. Getting there every night and believing he is there is a process that is ongoing.

Isaac’s performance in the Blue-White Game was similar to many of the ones he had for the Magic in that way. A slow start as he felt his way through where he tried to fit in before his confidence started to grow and he made a clearer impact.

Isaac finished with 11 points (the team best when he checked out of the game) and five rebounds in the scrimmage — a 97-78 win for the Senior National Team against the Select Team, which included Isaac. He struggled to shoot, making only 3 of his 10 shots. And there were probably some instructions not to do too much defensively in the paint to preserve players from injury.

Looking at the box score, it was a performance that looked like a mixed bag then. The poor shooting weighing down the scoring numbers. His four steals and five rebounds suggest good activity on the defensive end.

All that was certainly true. He looked unsure in some moments.

On one first-quarter possession, Marvin Bagley saved the ball along the baseline right to Isaac. He missed a short layup but was able to recover and clean up a second miss for a two-handed putback.

It took Isaac a long time for his jumper to go down. But as the second half began, Isaac started to look more confident and comfortable. He started showing the aggression and poise on the ball that Magic fans were likely hoping to see.

In his best move of the night, he sized up Khris Middleton and was able to beat him going to his left. He hit a tough running left-handed shot over the defense. Using his weak hand is not an easy thing to do and that was a great move that stood out.

And, yes, isaac gothis 3-pointer in the fourth quarter, hitting a transition 3-pointer as he trailed the play. Isaac was at least where he was when the Magic left him, displaying better driving and strength.

It was building the aggression and confidence to attack that seemed to be his biggest challenge still.

The start of the third quarter and that move over Middleton seemed to spark something inside Isaac. He started to be more aggressive on the ball, especially in transition.

Twice, he got the ball in transition in the open court and caught the defenders backpedaling, attacking them to draw fouls. He put on a nice dribble combination to get past Joe Harris and draw a foul. And then he took it right into the body of Kyle Kuzma to get another foul.

That was proof of his offseason strength work. He was able to mix things up on the block as he fought for boards. His only mishap coming when a teammate went after the same opportunity.

Defensively, Isaac was always in a good position.

The Blue team rarely went after him one on one. Aside from him being late rotating to protect the rim — perhaps by design — he got beat once on a backdoor cut from Harrison Barnes when Jonathan Isaac slipped on the cut. Isaac slipped a few times throughout the evening for some reason.

Nobody ever worries about Isaac’s defense. He was active when the ball came his way, recording his share of deflections and adding four steals as well. His length gave opponents problems when he was around the ball.

But that is what everyone already knows about Isaac’s game. He is already a starter-level defender and one of the better defenders on a top-10 defensive team. To unlock the next part of his game, the Magic need to see him become more assertive offensively.

That assertiveness took a while to come. And that reveals the key to Isaac’s next step. The step that he did not show he had reached in the course of this scrimmage.

Isaac is still a player who seems to need to build confidence first before he gets himself going and starts producing at stronger levels. Isaac can be content to blend in and contribute when the ball get sto him without demanding much attention from the defense.

It is this confidence the team needs to foster in Isaac to continue developing him.

That is the part that still seems to be in progress. It is not something that can come overnight. It is something that really cannot come out until it is out on the floor in live game action.

The first test of that saw mixed results. Isaac is still putting all the pieces of his game together.

He looked improved. But those improvements only came out when he was comfortable and confident on the court. Coaxing that out — or running plays for him to build that confidence — was slow to come.

The path to get him there is still laid out. As he works to improve his skills the rest of this offseason, the key for him is to believe he can employ those new skills and execute them with confidence.

That would unlock so much of his potential and talent.