DETROIT - If some had forgotten because of his 2 ½ year absence, followed by limited playing time upon his return, Jonathan Isaac has been reminding everyone this season, and especially these last several games, why he is, without question, one of the world’s greatest basketball defenders.
While not surprised anymore, his Orlando Magic coaches and teammates can’t help but marvel at all that he does on that end of the floor. His combination of length, anticipation, instincts and technique stick out every time down the court.
“Jonathan Isaac is an elite, elite, elite, elite defender,” Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley said following his team’s thrilling victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday. “I think he just knows his timing. He knows he can guard bigs. He can guard smalls. He has great anticipation. His ability to protect the rim, but also sit down and guard guys that are on the perimeter and be able to contest all shots with his length.”
That emphasis of the word elite by Mosley is warranted. There has not been one opponent this season that has had their way with the 6-foot-10 forward.
So far, opponents are shooting 38.9 percent from the field with him as the nearest defender, per Second Spectrum. Among players who have been the closest defender to a minimum of 100 shots, that’s the fourth-lowest percentage. Only Patrick Beverley, Kris Dunn and Isaac Okoro have better marks.
But, really, when you look deeper into the analytics, J.I.’s numbers are more mesmerizing. Nearly 30 percent of the shots Isaac has been near have come in the restricted semi-circle and 53 percent have come in the paint in general – way higher than those other three who are perimeter based.
To hold opponents under 40 percent overall with those shot-location percentages is almost unheard of. Although he’s been the closest defender to way more shots, Rudy Gobert, for example, has a defensive field goal percentage of 47.2 percent with 32 percent of those shots coming in the restricted semi-circle and 58 percent in the paint in general, per data.
Not only does he force opponents into a lot of tough shots, but Isaac also quite frequently denies them from even getting shots off because of how hounding and suffocating he is.
Kevin Durant, in Orlando’s win over Phoenix on Jan. 28 at Kia Center, had 18 touches with Isaac as his defender, but in those instances only got off three shots.
In the Magic’s win in San Antonio over the Spurs, Victor Wembanyama had 22 touches with Isaac as his primary defender, with six leading to shot attempts and only two being made.
In the latest Orlando victory, against the Wolves, Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 touches against Isaac, with only three resulting in shot attempts and just one going in.
Let’s review these names for a moment: Durant, Wembanyama and Towns.
Isaac shut them all down. That’s extraordinary stuff.
“Super impressive,” Franz Wagner said recently of him. “It’s not just what he does on the ball. It’s really the impact on the whole possession. When other guys are getting back-cut or there is a missed coverage or something like that, his ability just to impact shots. He makes a lot of mistakes (by others) not look like mistakes anymore. I think that’s way greater of an impact because it’s every possession, not just what he does on the ball.”
It's uncommon for guys his size to guard one-on-one on the perimeter like he does. From a metrics perspective, there aren’t many who have limited opponents in isolation the way he has this season.
The only players who rank higher at isolation defense, based on points allowed per chance in conjunction with the quality of the opponent per Second Spectrum’s advanced tracking data, are Herbert Jones, Jaren Jackson Jr., Evan Mobley, OG Anunoby and Lu Dort. Others who rank high include Paul George, Kawhi Leonard and Jaden McDaniels.
It's a repeated narrative, but one that can’t be ignored: If Isaac can handle playing increased minutes down the stretch of the season, one could argue that there isn’t a greater X-factor in the league than him.