The 2022 NBA season will be a year of learning and growth for the Orlando Magic.
There are so many young players and players on their rookie contracts who will be seeking their way. If there is a clear weakness for the Magic this coming season, it is that they are too young. They exited last season as the fourth-youngest team in the league.
The Magic then went out and added two rookies in Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner to the roster. They almost had to add a veteran like Robin Lopez just to give some experience to the roster.
This is a roster that needs young players to grow and step up to the plate. No matter their experience.
It is no different for a young veteran like Jonathan Isaac.
Jonathan Isaac will have a lot on his table this year as he recovers from a torn ACL. The biggest among them is the Orlando Magic pushing him forward on offense.
Jonathan Isaac has never been one of the top options for the Magic while under Steve Clifford. It was something the Magic’s former coach always regretted. Indeed, Isaac’s usage rate has never been greater than 20-percent, topping off at 18.3-percent in the 2020 season. Isaac has never averaged more than 10 field goal attempts, taking 9.8 per game in the 2020 season.
That is surely going to change.
As the roster has been reconstructed, Isaac has quickly become one of the most experienced players who will receive significant minutes. It will not all be perfect, but next season will be a key year for Isaac.
Isaac, even coming off a torn ACL, is going to be relied on as one of the best offensive options for the Magic.
The injury will undoubtedly be a challenge for Isaac as he emerges as a featured player in the offense. He is likely to miss time throughout the year while he returns to the court to reach 100-percent. That makes sense in a year where the Magic’s goal does not necessarily fall in wins and losses.
What is important is player development. And Isaac still has a lot of room to grow.
Players may struggle in their new roles, and Isaac may not be an exception, but it will be important Isaac sees what being a top option entails.
Isaac simply has not had the opportunity to be fully unleashed offensively. He was always a secondary player behind more veteran players like Nikola Vucevic, Evan Fournier and Aaron Gordon.
They are all gone now.
Isaac’s career-high in points per game was only 11.9 points per game on decent efficiency as he shot 47-percent from the field and 34-percent from beyond the arc. His career-high in scoring is 25 points from a loss to the Indiana Pacers in the 2020 season just after both Vucevic and Gordon went down with ankle injuries.
But the biggest difference will be the number of shots he takes this coming up season. He only took 9.8 shots per game during the 2020 season, a career-high. This was with Evan Fournier, Aaron Gordon, and Nikola Vucevic still on the roster.
He has taken 15 or more field goals in a game just five times in three seasons. Isaac simply has not been a scorer for the Magic. That was not his role.
Orlando Magic
This time around, as Isaac becomes more a focal point, Isaac’s shot attempts will go up.
Isaac may not end up being the most efficient player this season, but that will come as Isaac gets more comfortable being featured offensively.
Expect this coming season is what the 2018 season was for Aaron Gordon.
Gordon averaged his career-high in points at 17.6 points per game on the most attempts per game in his career at 14.9 per game. However, he was not the most efficient player as he shot 43.4-percent from the field and 33.6-percent from three.
Gordon showed flashes that season — including two games of 40-plus points and four games of 30-plus points as he emerged as a potential scorer.
But he was never able to put together the leap Orlando. This is Isaac’s chance to show what he can do as he is given more responsibility he has had in his career.
On the other end of the court, it is just showing he is still capable of showing flashes of what he was able to do defensively before the injury.
Isaac’s potential was always as an elite two-way player. His success will still be most on the defensive end of the floor.
Before the knee injury, before the season was postponed, Isaac was in all-defensive team conversations averaging 1.6 steals and 2.3 blocks per game. He was also an outstanding team defender, creating havoc using his length and athleticism.
Instead, this season will be a focus on how Isaac handles being more of a focal point of the offense. He was never asked to do much to the point where Clifford mentioned he did not draw up plays for Isaac.
This time around, it will be different as the Magic are putting out a young team, and it is up to Isaac to take advantage of this opportunity.
This season is about player development, and Isaac has the chance to put the league on notice.