3 realistic goals for Jonathan Isaac’s Orlando Magic return

3 realistic goals for Jonathan Isaac’s Orlando Magic return

2. Help with the 3-point shooting

We know Jonathan Isaac is not a shooter first and foremost. So we will belabor the point here. But he did shoot 34 percent from deep the season before he got injured, on nearly three attempts per night.

In his last game for the Lakeland Magic before being recalled, he took six attempts from deep. Perhaps this is not a complete sign of things to come, as in the game before that he had a more predictable three shots from 3-point range.

The fact Isaac only went 1 for 9 on these efforts is beside the point. He clearly needed to get his legs under him as he builds his conditioning. That is the last element in his recovery that will take place on a Magic floor.

There is little doubt he is going to shoot more from further away, both because he has the length and range to do so, and because he will spend time next to Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, two players opponents already respect.

We spoke in more detail recently about how the Magic should look to lean into their 3-point shooting more as a way to hurt opponents each night. It is a wrinkle to their offensive game that if anything appears underused at this point. Isaac can help out some in this area.

He showed in those Lakeland games he is unafraid to get back into the paint and do his best work there. But in jumbo lineups featuring a traditional guard like Markelle Fultz, Paolo Banchero, Bol Bol, Wendell Carter and Jonathan Isaac, the ability of all four of those big men to shoot will be huge for the Magic.

So taking over three shots from deep and making more than 30 percent of them feels like a modest and achievable goal here for Isaac.