Jonathan Isaac is keeping the Orlando Magic afloat

Jonathan Isaac is impossible to ignore. He is a defensive maven dominating opponents and making the biggest difference for a struggling Orlando Magic team.

Any player staring down Kristaps Porzingis knows they are facing a tall order. Pun intended.

The big man can play like a guard at times and take advantage of smaller players who try to check him or drive past big men. But the Orlando Magic have Jonathan Isaac. And that changed everything.

Kristaps Porzingis could not put the ball on the floor or post up Jonathan Isaac. The long-limbed 6-foot-10 forward was everywhere, sticking with the 7-footer (still recovering from a torn ACL, but still off to a strong start).

Porzingis could not put the ball on the floor without Isaac being up into him.

In the third quarter, Jonathan Isaac swiped the ball from Kristaps Porzingis and dove on the floor for the ball, throwing the ball over his head to Markelle Fultz who finished the shot and drew the foul for an and-1 basket. It was the kind of play the Magic hoped would turn their fortunes around create some momentum.

Except a play like that was commonplace for Isaac against the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday, even in a 107-106 defeat. Isaac’s impact was undeniable. Orlando slowed down the best offense in the league and Isaac was omnipresent.

The Magic have struggled through eight games. Their 2-6 record is deserved in a lot of ways. But Orlando knows it can continue to get better. And a lot of that is on the strength of the defense.

A lot of it is on the strength of Isaac’s defense.

Surprisingly, Isaac is the player no one can ignore on the floor. As all the other starter for the team have struggled, Isaac has stood out as a player who has not only improved dramatically but as a player who is making a clear impact on winning this season.

Through eight games, Isaac might very well be the best player on the Magic’s roster to this point. He is certainly the team’s most productive player. And it is his play that is keeping the team afloat as it tries to figure its offense out.

This is not coming on the offensive end, of course. Isaac is averaging 11.1 points per game and shooting a 52.1 percent effective field goal percentage. If this continues, both would be career highs.

That kind of offensive production is welcome for this team. But it is the expected improvement of a 21-year-old third-year player.

The Magic are still not running any plays for him. But Isaac is finding ways to impact the game when the ball swings to him — including his 24-point breakout performance against the Toronto Raptors earlier this year.

Where Isaac has truly made a difference is on defense. The Magic have long asked for a player that was elite at something since they traded away Dwight Howard. Yes, Nikola Vucevic was an All-Star last year, but nobody was going to call him a player who was the very best at his position at anything — he was always a Nikola Jokic-lite, even before Jokic was a thing.

Isaac is different. He may not be one of the league’s best defensive players yet, but he is getting there very quickly. Just ask Porzingis.

In Wednesday’s loss to the Mavericks, Porzingis shot just 4 for 14 from the floor. According to NBA.com’s tracking statistics, Porzingis scored only five points with Isaac defending him, hitting two of nine shots. Isaac blocked two of Porzingis’ shots.

Isaac neared the vaunted 5×5 club — a club that contains only 19 players — with 10 rebounds, four steals, five assists and six blocks. That basic statistical output shows the kind of activity he played with in Tuesday’s game.

It is clear what this kind of impact this defense can have on the game too.

The Magic had a defensive rating of 95.4 points allowed per 100 possessions with Isaac on the floor Wednesday. This in a game where the team gave up 107.0 points allowed per 100 possessions.

The Magic are slightly above their average with Isaac on the floor at 102.8 points allowed per 100 possessions. But the team has a positive net rating this year with only two players on the floor — Mohamed Bamba (+4.9) and Jonathan Isaac (+1.5).

Isaac currently leads the league in blocks at 3.0 per game. He has garnered 1.6 steals per game.

On an individual defensive basis, opponents are shooting 29.5 percent against him according to NBA.com. Amazingly, he is doing this with 11.9 field goals attempted against him, the second-most on the team.

Orlando is relying on him to be the team’s top defensive player on most nights. All the while, the Magic have also used Isaac as a roamer able to help block shots and protect the rim.

The Magic have been able to use Isaac as a utility tool defensively. He may never quite fill a box score like this, but Isaac is far from done with this kind of activity. His impact is all about defense, turning the team’s strength into a true weapon. One that has nearly overcome the team’s offensive struggles.

Isaac is not scoring a ton, but it is still impossible to miss him on the floor. It is still impossible to ignore his impact. It is still impossible to deny the storm that is brewing with this young player.

Nobody should anoint him the next star yet. Everyone (myself included) has fallen into the trap of going from player to player proclaiming them the next star — this year was supposed to be Aaron Gordon‘s turn, it might still be.

Orlando Magic

But for this team today, he is keeping them afloat. His ability to change games defensively — a sort of defensive gravity that this team has not seen since Howard played and has probably never truly seen from a perimeter-based player — is the only thing giving this team hope through a 2-6 start.

Orlando has not been able to crow about a lot this season so far. The team’s defense has been a saving grace — sixth in the league at 101.0 points allowed per 100 possessions, but sinking in the last few games. Orlando still has a negative net rating, a product of an offense that cannot get itself moving.

The Magic’s success this season is still rooted in the team finding any consistency scoring the ball. The defense will do the rest.

So many of the Magic’s players have spent this early season trying to get themselves into a rhythm and look like the players that everyone expected. Ultimately, the Magic’s success this season will depend on Nikola Vucevic and Aaron Gordon playing consistently and Evan Fournier and Terrence Ross hitting from the outside.

The improvement from young players like Jonathan Isaac and Markelle Fultz was meant to bolster what they did and propel the team higher up the standings.

Instead, it is Isaac’s improvement that is helping keep the Magic afloat. It is impossible to ignore him or push aside his impact. Not anymore.

Regardless of what happens this season, it feels like the Magic have that someone elite at something to build and grow around.