Orlando Magic’s 5 best options to hit the game-winner

Orlando Magic’s best options to close

Jonathan Isaac

At the end of the day, teams need to turn to their best players to win them games. The thought is always that your team leaders need to take on the responsibility to win games and carry the team to the end.

Especially in the playoffs, it is a team’s best players who have to beat set defenses and find ways to lead the team. Everyone else followed these players.

It is hard to say exactly what role the Magic envision Isaac playing. A lot of this season will be measuring his recovery and figuring out who he is as a player again.

The team is certainly going to count on Isaac recovering his defensive impact and having him anchor the team’s defense. The question is just how much offense he can provide and what his ideal offensive role is.

Isaac during his career-best 2020 season (before his first knee injury) was posting only an 18.3-percent usage rate. He has never had a usage rate greater than 20.0-percent — essentially the usage rate for every player if everyone is sharing the ball equally.

That makes sense, of course. With the Magic full of veteran players and a coach in Steve Clifford who skewed much more conservative with his philosophies and playcalling. He always lamented he did not involve Isaac in teh offense more.

The numbers show this too.

In 2020, Isaac played only 35 clutch minutes, scoring seven points on 2-for-5 shooting. He had eight rebounds and three blocks to boot.

In 2019, when Jonathan Isaac was the starter but not the closer at small forward as he gave way to Terrence Ross, Isaac played only 65 clutch minutes, scoring 17 points and shot 7 for 18 from the floor. He had 19 rebounds.

His role was not to be the scorer or contribute offensively in these situations.

But a lot of those players are gone now. Isaac is expected to take on a bigger offensive role, even as he recovers from his ACL injury. And nobody quite knows what that will look like.

If the Magic feel like Isaac is one of their best players, they will undoubtedly look to involve him in the offense more. And that will necessarily bring opportunities for him to take the last shot and play when the game is truly on the line.

The question nobody knows when it comes to the Magic, is whether Isaac wants those shots or has the knack for taking them. It is just not a place he has been put on in his time with the Magic or even at Florida State.

Orlando will and should put Isaac in situations that are a bit uncomfortable. That includes trusting him with the ball and with the last shot when the time calls for it.

The Magic may not be short on options for that last shot, but they will have to push the players they care about forward. And Isaac has to make the list.