3 Orlando Magic players Jamahl Mosley can offer a second chance

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Jonathan Isaac has all-defensive team potential but his place as a cornerstone for the Orlando Magic is still a mystery. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /

Orlando Magic players in need of a second chance

Jonathan Isaac

Jonathan Isaac’s first priority will be getting himself healthy after missing the 2021 season with a torn ACL. At this point, the Orlando Magic (or Isaac) are not offering any clues about where Isaac is in his progress or whether he will be ready for training camp. He told The Sixth Man Show that he felt he had turned a corner with his recovery, but that is about it.

At this point, we are 11 months from the original injury and nearing that mythical 12-month mark. It feels likely Isaac will be back and ready to play this season even if the Magic stay cautious as they usually do.

Isaac has already carved out a reputation as a strong defender. Even when he was still new to the NBA and recovering from injury, he quickly made an impact defensively. Those defensive instincts and ability will probably be the first thing to return for Isaac when he gets back onto the floor.

What the Magic likely want to see as he begins his four-year extension off his rookie contract is whether his offensive game can take a leap.

The team Isaac is returning to from his injury is very different from the one he left. Isaac is now sort of the veteran player. And while we have long said Isaac is likely the only player with elite talent, nobody was prepared to say he was the team’s best player or anything more than that defensively specialist.

That is how Steve Clifford used him. Isaac was often an afterthought offensively with Clifford even admitting and lamenting how little he involved Isaac in the offense.

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For his career, Isaac is averaging only 9.3 points per game on a 49.6-percent effective field goal percentage. In the 2020 season, Isaac averaged a career-best 11.9 points per game on a 51.8-percent effective field goal percentage.

He has progressively gotten better. But no one would confuse the Magic for running plays or offense through Isaac in any significant way.

The only time they did that was when both Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic suffered injuries during the 2020 season and had to miss some time. In the time Vucevic was out in November and December that season, Isaac averaged 12.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game while shooting 42.4-percent from the floor on 12.0 field goal attempts per game.

If there is one thing we know about Isaac, though, he is willing to work to improve his game even when he is injured.

When he returned from his knee injury in the bubble, he was stellar from beyond the arc. In the opening win against the Brooklyn Nets, he scored 16 points and hit six of seven shots, including both of his 3-pointers. That came after a stellar scrimmage against the Denver Nuggets with similar statistics.

The criticism facing Isaac even in the draft process was his seeming willingness to recede into the background on offense. He never really seemed to assert himself offensively.

The Magic were full of veterans who could easily take that pressure and attention off Isaac. That is gone now. This is a wholly new team and Isaac is one of its veterans.

Isaac will be spending this year recovering from an injury. But Jamahl Mosley is also going to have to work with Jonathan Isaac to unlock more of an offensive mindset. Orlando cannot rely on Isaac as a supporting player anymore. He has to be a featured cog of the offense.

That will require some serious coaching to change this season and beyond.